Broken
by Writer207
Summary: When Rip broke out of prison, he'd offered the Legends a lead on Darhk and they decided to check it out. They found him, but the damage was great. Gideon was wrecked and Ray was stuck in Mallus' realm, the others were all injured. Sara sighed. Maybe she shouldn't have taken up Rip's offer... (T to be safe)
1. Prologue

**I do not own DC's Legends of Tomorrow**

 **AU-ish; in which John Constantine takes his time to contact the Legends, allowing the following to ensue between Jax's departure and Constantine's arrival**

* * *

The Legends did not return to the Waverider unscathed. Sara walked onto the bridge, agent Ava Sharpe on her side. They were bruised and battered, but other than that, they were fine and did not suffer any major injuries. The same could not be said for the rest of the Legends. Sure, some injuries were inflicted before today, but that did not make them any better.

Amaya rushed past them. Taking firm steps, she made her way to the med bay as quickly as she could. She carried Nate, who leaned limply against her. He was unconscious, but luckily he was still breathing. Sara and Ava did not say a word – they let Amaya make haste to save Nate.

Leo and Zari entered the bridge next. They carried Ray with them, both holding an arm as they walked forward. Ray's feet dragged over the floor. Mick came in right behind them, never letting his eyes off of Ray. He tried to scratch off the thin layer of ice that covered the stump or tried to relieve an itch, but he did not really succeed, for he held his heat gun in that hand. Even though he was pissed off, it seemed like he treated it like a minor nuisance instead of something potentially life-threatening.

"You should go to the med bay," Sara told him. She only glanced at the stump. It had been cut off in the upper arm, right above the elbow. _Just when you think you've seen it all…_ It was gruesome to see – she could handle seeing it, she just had a hard time looking at it, knowing who had taken Mick's arm.

"And do what, exactly?" Mick grunted, not looking up from his stump. "I'll live."

"For now," Leo chimed in. He and Zari had stopped, possibly so that they could partake in the conversation. Mick stopped scratching and Sara caught him rolling his eyes. "The bleeding has stopped, but it's only a temporary solution. Later, someone will have to take a look at it."

Before Mick could say anything in response, the doors slid open. Rip Hunter, who had stayed behind on the ship, hobbled towards them. He was careful not to put too much pressure on his left leg or to move it too quickly.

"Gideon's back online, but it'll take time to recover her medical abilities." By the time he finished talking, he had reached them. Ava Sharpe did not make eye contact, instead preferring to keep her eyes on Ray. Rip did not ignore her, but simply chose not to address her directly.

"What does that mean?" Zari frowned. So far, Gideon had been a blessing to the Legends, and every day she learned something new about the AI. It would take her a while to learn all there was to know about her.

"She can't treat people yet, but she can diagnose them," Rip responded. "I'll need more time."

"See?" Mick said, pointing his stump at the former captain, "Can't fix me yet." Rip's face paled slightly when he noticed the stump. He couldn't help but stare in disbelief. Sara sighed under her breath as Mick walked away from them, probably to fetch himself a beer. Life would be a bit easier if he listened every once in a long while.

Ray groaned. Everyone turned their heads to him, silent. Leo's grip tightened and Zari eyed him warily. He was waking up.

Mick growled. As soon as he heard the sound, he turned around and marched straight towards Ray. With a blow of his heat gun, Ray's body went limp again. It was a hard blow and it was possible Ray would feel it when he woke up. Mick turned around again and walked away in silence, off to get his beer.

Sara's eyes shifted from Mick to Ray. "Take him out of sight," she said. The sooner he was locked up, the sooner her team would be safe. Leo and Zari obeyed and took him away from the bridge. Ava followed them, and Sara suspected she would try to make sure Ray wouldn't cause any more problems.

With their departure, Sara and Rip were the only ones left on the bridge. Sara noticed the confused look in Rip's eyes as he watched how Ray was dragged away. She knew Rip would demand an explanation for everything that happened the past hour.

"What exactly happened out there?" Rip eventually asked. He turned his head to her. "I couldn't make contact—"

"It's a long story," Sara said. "How is your leg?" She changed the subject far too obviously. She was sure that Rip caught on, but she just couldn't discuss what happened. Not yet, at least. It was a long story, indeed, but also one she did not know the details of. It was easier to talk about Rip's injury than Ray's betrayal.

Rip's hand moved to his left thigh after the question. "Gideon said it isn't too bad. it will continue to hurt until it is mended."

"Sounds like you have a lot of work to do," Sara said. Rip nodded in response, still holding his tight. Sara glanced at it, too, and noticed the blood stains. The former captain had yet to change his pants. Those were the least of his concerns, anyway.

"I do, but it's not an easy feat. I'll work as quickly as I can." He was getting ready to turn around and return to the engine room, but Sara stopped him.

"Do you need some help?" Rip shook his head.

"I'll manage," he said. He needed the help, but he did not want anyone to help. That, or he believed everyone would be too busy figuring out what had happened to Ray.

"Good luck, then." With these words, she dismissed him. They went in opposite directions – Rip limped back to the engine room while Sara made her way to the library. It was empty, just the way she wanted it. She sat down in the chair and let a heavy sigh escape her mouth, placing her hand on her forehead.

How could this have happened? She tried to put together the puzzle, but there were several pieces missing. It made it impossible to find any logic behind Ray's rash behavior. She glanced at the screen opposite of her. Currently, there was nothing projected on it.

"Gideon?"

 _"Yes, captain Lance?"_

"Pull up the live feed of the brig."

 _"Right away, captain."_ No second later, the screen showed her what was going on at the brig. Ray lay in the cell, still unconscious from Mick's blow. Zari locked the door while Leo and Ava watched. The doors slid closed and the three of them walked away, leaving Ray alone in the brig.

Sara leaned back in the chair, watching nothing else but the screen and the footage it showed. As she tried to figure out what was going on with him, she waited for him to wake up. The sooner he woke up, the sooner she would have to confront him about his actions, and the sooner she would find out what drove Ray to do these unspeakable things.

At that moment, nobody aboard the Waverider really knew anymore what Ray Palmer was capable of doing.


	2. Time itself

**Rookblonkorules: Ray betraying the Legends is exclusive to this AU. I don't think he's capable of hurting his friends on the show.**

 **Guest 1: Chapter length depends on the content of the chapter. The next few will have about this length, but from there I don't know how long they'll be.**

 **Guest 2: Everything will be explained later, though not immediately. This story will be told diachronically, but there will be answers.**

 **Ladyawesome45321: It will be revealed later on, though a small part will be revealed in this.**

* * *

It was dark, no source of light anywhere. Ray Palmer carefully looked around, taking in every detail of this strange world he landed in. He dared not to disturb anything that could be lurking in the darkness, beyond the sand plains. He couldn't see too far, but there wasn't anything to look at in the first place. There was only sand, a soft almost non-existent breeze, one nearby and in the distance stood a stubborn bare dying tree. He tried not to move too much, as the sand could easily penetrate his exosuit. Quite impractical, really, but he hadn't yet found a solution to that small problem.

Ray gulped. Where had he ended up now?

" _Ray Palmer_." It was a low voice, seemingly coming from every direction. Ray froze, though tried to find out where that voice came from. There was nobody around and there wasn't even a shadow of anything nearby. Not being able to see who said this terrified him.

Then it hit him. The deep voice, this eerie place – this was exactly the scene Sara had described some days ago.

"Mallus," Ray said. _Not good._ The entity, with whom Ray was trapped in this realm, did not respond. Yet, Ray could feel it watching his every move. It pressured him somehow and he felt like he wasn't allowed to make any mistakes.

As Mallus was watching, Ray turned around and hoped now to see a sign. He hoped for anything that indicated the Legends were coming to rescue him. He couldn't see any portal yet, but there could be one any minute. There had to be.

"Calm down, Ray," he muttered to himself. He couldn't panic now. "They're coming. You're going to go back. They'll take you home."

" _Will they_?" Ray imagined Mallus faintly chuckled. It sounded like he was mocking him, though the tone suggested otherwise. As if he did not approve of such optimism.

Ray gulped. He wanted to reply, but would his talking back anger the entity?

"They will," Ray eventually said, mentally patting himself on the back for talking back. He could not deny it – if he did, he might stop believing they were coming for him. Which they were, he told himself. Ava Sharpe saved Sara from this place. Surely they would find a way to get him back. Surely they would figure out how to get here. Surely they'd come.

" _They abandoned you_." The more he spoke, the more Mallus struck fear in Ray's heart. The echoes of these words around him, still not knowing where to look, where to find a target… No wonder people could lose hope in this place.

Ray remained silent for a few moments before opening his mouth and closing it again. He shook his head. If he didn't talk back, he might never dare to do it again. And he needed answers.

"How would you know?"

" _Where do you think we are?"_ It sounded threatening. Ray imagined Mallus would immediately incapacitate or kill Ray if he dared to speak up. Well, better not make him too angry. He still wanted to be alive when the Legends came to rescue him from this forsaken place. Yet, it seemed like this question was just innocent, a genuine question for him to answer.

So Ray tried to find an answer that would not anger the entity. He looked around again, though he found nothing new to stare at. He had already seen everything he could see. The information his suit was giving him about the location was not making any sense either. By all means, this place shouldn't even exist. How could he know where he was if this location could not exist?

He eventually found an answer, one Sara had given her team when they asked her where she had gone. "Your prison."

" _Yes, my prison. Time itself_." Ray frowned upon hearing this. He did not fully understand what the entity was talking about. No, he'd rather believe that what Mallus implied was just a mind-trick, not real. It couldn't be.

"Time itself?" Ray muttered to himself. "I-Is that even possible?"

 _"You have been to the Vanishing Point, a place outside of time's influence."_ The Legend dared not to interrupt Mallus to ask him how he knew that. " _This is Time. This is the only place I could be contained without me damaging your world even further. How much time has passed since you came? Minutes, yes, but also decades. An eternity can last a second, and vice versa."_

Mallus stopped talking rather abruptly, waiting for Ray to grasp the concept. At least, that's how Ray interpreted the silence. He also understood the message Mallus was trying to get across – it would explain the strange statistics his suit had recorded. However, there was something else he struggled with. How could Time be both a physical location and the stream the Waverider was drifting through?

 _"They have abandoned you."_ Those words somehow sounded different than anything Mallus had said before. All because he now understood where he was. By the logic of this realm, the Legends could already have tried everything they could to save him. they could already be dead. They could already have given up.

Ray shook his head, trying to clear it from any negative thoughts. "No," he said. "No, they don't. They are coming. They're still coming."

" _They are not even trying_." The voice did not only inspire fear now. Hearing these lies, he wished the entity would stop talking, or at least show his face. Ray didn't want to hear it anymore, wished Mallus would be quiet. But Mallus continued. " _You are left here to rot_."

"You're lying." Ray turned around again, imagining that was where Mallus was standing. It was better than shouting at the sky. "They will find me and when they do, we will stop you."

 _"When I am released, you will be left here. The only way you ever get out of here, Ray Palmer, is if you find a way to come along."_

"Shut up," Ray mumbled. He closed his eyes and placed his hands on his helmet as if to cover his ears. It was some protection against the next taunt, against the next attempt to make him believe his team had given up on him.

But Mallus did not answer. For the first time since Ray arrived, it was completely silent. He removed his hands from the helmet and again glanced at his surroundings, still expecting Mallus to continue. Ray remained quiet, too. Seconds, minutes – heck, maybe even hours! – passed in silence. Somehow, that was even more disturbing than Mallus talking to him.

Ray took a deep breath. Mallus was probably still watching, but at least he was keeping quiet.

He was going to be in this realm for a while, he figured he'd get comfortable. He started by taking off his suit. He put all of the pieces on a rock he'd seen earlier, to protect it from the sand. He had hoped they would have found him by the time he'd placed his suit on the rock, but there was no sign of any rescue yet. He stretched his legs and walked around, but was careful not to stray too far away from where he'd landed, just in case that was where the Legends would arrive.

He hoped for a sign. Any sign, really. He hoped to see a glimpse, any glimpse of a portal that would take him home. He hoped to hear his name, shouted by a team member looking for him in this wasteland. There never came such a sign but still, he did not give up hope. It would mean Mallus was right, and he did not want that entity to be right.

How much time had passed already? Ray tried to measure it by counting the seconds in his head. For a short while, it worked. But then, things changed. He lost count or got confused, counted slower or faster. Or he got distracted. Normally, such a small feat would take up no difficulty. It seemed Mallus was right when he explained the passage of time in this realm. Still, he did not cease his attempts. He told himself he needed to keep track of time, though he had no idea why it felt so important. Maybe this little glimpse of 'normal' was what would distract him from Mallus himself.

All the while, he repeated the same words over and over again in his head.

 _They'll come for me. They'll find me. They'll save me from this place._


	3. Fugitive

**As of the latest episode, this story is now officially AU.**

 **Guest: Thanks for the review. Here is the next chapter.**

 **Rookblonkorules: Well, so far it looks like it's all on Ray. Thanks for reviewing.**

 **Ladyawesome45321: Thank you, and here's the next chapter.**

* * *

 ** _Two days ago_**

Rip Hunter sprinted away, barely hindered by the trees. His dull grey jumpsuit got torn up in his flight through the woods. The branches reached for him, the thorns caught him. He was in a hurry and did not slow down, though he was careful not to trip or to drop the small steel box he'd borrowed. There was a time courier locked inside, his only way out of this distant time.

The alarm sounded behind him, a loud wailing piercing through the silence. Fear crept up on him, but he did not give in to it. He needn't look back to know what was coming. The hounds were released. They could catch up with him within a minute.

So Rip had only one minute to make his escape before the Time Bureau caught up with him. They'd lock him up again, something he couldn't allow to happen. Someone had to stop Mallus, and it started to look like it had to be him. His co-workers think him mad and the Legends… after Sara's statement, he was certain they wouldn't help him anytime soon. They'd rather fix anachronisms than to see the bigger picture. Such a shame, really.

Yet, he knew he needed the help. Mallus wasn't someone you could win from on your own. If they did not want to help him, he'd make them see. He'd prove Mallus was a serious threat to the timeline. He'd show them what to prioritize. They'd thank him later and see they had better listened to him from the beginning.

A small beep from the box almost caused him to trip. He stopped running when he heard the sound and saw a green led light was activated. The box unlocked itself. Rip pushed open the lid and took the time courier in his hand. He tossed the box away – it wasn't of any value anymore and he did not need it anymore.

The hounds howled in the distance. The sound was faint, but it signaled that they were closing in on him. They'd picked up on his scent, no doubt. It would not take too long before they reached him, considering their barking grew louder the closer they came.

There was no time to waste. Rip activated the time courier and stepped through the portal it has created. He closed the portal as soon as he had walked through it. Finally at peace, he sighed deeply. _I'm free,_ he thought. He had successfully escaped the time prison.

Rip looked around. He was exactly where he needed to be – the Waverider. Since he was in a hurry, he had entered his old office. It wasn't the room where he needed to be, but it was the next best thing considering he was running from the Time Bureau. He did not need to see the Legends – not really. He just needed to use some facilities on board. The fabrication room was close – if he reached it, he could change into an attire that suited him more than this torn prison jumpsuit and leave before the Legends even knew he was here.

The Legends would be better off if they did not see him, anyway. They could always hand him over to the Time Bureau again. That image was more prominently on his mind than imagining they would drop him off at his next destination. They did not have to tag along. They could stay right where they were, fixing anachronisms as they continued on. He couldn't deny it would be nice to talk to them, though. It had been weeks for him, but how much time had passed for the Legends aboard this ship?

Rip walked out of the office and turned to the right, towards the fabrication room. Before he reached the doors, they already slid open, revealing Sara Lance. As soon as their eyes met, Sara glared at him. Rip sighed under his breath. Of course, this had to happen. And of course, it would be Sara who caught him on board.

"Rip." There was nothing friendly in her tone. He assumed she had not forgiven him for the lives he wagered in Victorian England.

"Miss Lance," he replied. He contemplated adding how good it was to see her but refrained himself from doing so.

"Give me one good reason not to turn you in."

"I don't have one." He averted his eyes. There had been a lot of time to think in his prison cell. When he wasn't thinking of Mallus, he thought of the night Damien Darhk returned. Because of Rip's rash actions, good people had died at the hands of Mallus. Their blood was on Rip's hands too, having asked them to join him. He regretted their deaths deeply and if he could go back and change it, he would. But he couldn't. First, he needed to stop Mallus. Maybe taking away the threat would mean those agents didn't have to die in vain.

"Why are you here?" Sara folded her arms. There still was hostility in her eyes.

"I'm only passing through," he responded, "I'm going to change clothes and then I'll be on my way again. But…" He paused, searching for the right words. "Since I'm here now… I would like to apologize. For what happened in Victorian England."

"It's a bit late for an apology."

Rip nodded. "I know." He walked past her. The fact that she let him pass was quite the achievement, especially at this time.

"Where will you go?" He only had taken a couple of steps when she spoke again. Rip turned around to face her.

"A dangerous place. I believe the Darhks may go there next."

"And where is that?" Sara asked. She didn't ask because she wanted to come along. Their interests just so happened to be partially the same. Or maybe she was still considering informing the Time Bureau of his whereabouts.

He trusted her. He still did, despite everything. He had to believe that one day, maybe not today, she would trust him again as well.

"The Depot, in the twenty-sixth century, right after it was shut down."

"Shut down?" She asked. Rip nodded in response. "Why would they go there, then?" Oh, right, he'd almost forgotten she didn't know what the Depot was.

"The Depot was used to store weapons, unlike any others. The governments at the time put the most dangerous weapons there behind lock and key. Together, they deemed it too dangerous for anyone to have such a powerful weapon and shut it down. The thing is, those weapons are still there."

Sara rose her eyebrows – Rip interpreted that as a sign of interest. He continued: "It was safer to let them rust than to destroy them and risk a global catastrophe. They have made it nearly impossible to break into the Depot and steal something, but they never implemented any measures against time-traveling thieves."

Sara remained silent for a while, looking at him. Rip wondered what was going through her head. He had left out why he believed Damien and his daughter would possibly want to go there, but his explanation spoke for itself. It was essential they did not get their hands on those weapons.

Those weapons… Rip has never held one, but he's seen plenty when he visited them for the Time Masters. No matter what changes were made in the past, the Depot would always exist in the future. Those weapons were terrible. There were whispers and rumors, which always were true somehow. There were facts and there was history. If there ever was a major catastrophic event since the twenty-fourth century, the weapon would end up in or come from the Depot. Even the biggest natural disasters were ignited with a weapon. Europe, 2561, was a perfect example. An immense generated earthquake left the continent shattered and killed billions of people. All because a monarch did not agree with the Union.

He could barely imagine what the Darhks could do with those weapons. Surely, now they could travel through time, they could create the biggest anachronisms, but with weaponry like that on their hands… he did not want to know the damage they would cause.

But he had pondered enough. Time was passing and he could not wait any longer. The longer he stayed on board, the sooner the Bureau would find and imprison him. He was surprised they hadn't already found him.

"I have to go now," Rip told Sara. "Good luck with the anachronisms."

He slowly turned his back on her for the second time and walked away from her. One step after the other, always lingering ever so slightly, hoping Sara would stop him, say something, do anything. Tell him they'd come along. The company would be nice. The time he spent alone in his prison cell made him realize being lonely did not benefit him in any way.

"Rip, wait." He stopped immediately. "Let us at least drop you off."

Rip turned to her again and smiled at her. she did not smile back, which he accepted. He may have convinced her, but now he still had to face the rest of the team. Ray, Jax, the professor, Amaya and the others also had a say in where they had to go next. But still, he accepted their help, whether it came only from Sara or the entire team.

"Thank you, miss Lance."


	4. Stasis

**Rookblonkorules: Thanks for reviewing.**

 **Ladyawesome 45321: Rip may be able to help. You'll just have to wait and see what happens. Thanks for reviewing.**

* * *

Slipping in and out of consciousness was taking its toll. Though he wanted to stay awake, Nate found it hard to accomplish even such a small feat. It did not mean he would stop trying. He'd keep on fighting.

He should've seen it coming. Something was off about the entire situation, he'd felt it. Finding Ray only one day after he vanished just seemed too good to be true. Yet, he went in without many precautions – he wanted to make it up to his best friend. It had been his fault Ray had disappeared, after all. At least, that's what he believed. He could have guessed something would go wrong, but he never expected Ray to turn on him. He never thought his friend would abandon him while he was still in pain.

Nate had no clear memories of the event. Everything that had happened right after he found Ray, was distant and vague. He could not even remember what Ray exactly had done. Well, whatever it was, it seemed not to have left any physical mark and it hurt like hell. Whatever it was, it was far worse than anything the old Ray could have done to him.

He didn't even know he slipped away the first time until he woke. Ray was gone and Nate lay on the cold floor, his body too tired and too heavy to move. His chest felt like it was going to explode and for all that he knew, that was what was going to happen. The only other thing he remembered from his location was a bright light above him and dark walls without any windows. At the time, he'd also forgotten where he was, unable to remember why Ray had come here.

Amaya found him not much later. He only vaguely remembered what happened next. The details he did remember, seemed to go slow down in his memory. She asked him who had hurt him. she helped him sit against the wall, then stand. He didn't know whether he had answered her question. Before he could take step towards the door, his body went limp and he lost consciousness.

The next time he was awake did not last long, either. He was looking at the ceiling of a dimly-lit hallway. It wasn't the Waverider. Couldn't be the Waverider, it looked different. He was moving quickly but wasn't walking himself. Amaya carried him. There were questions, but he couldn't ask. The hallway turned dark and he slipped back into the darkness before he realized it was happening.

Nate woke up again in a much more comfortable position. He was sitting – or was he laying? – in a chair, holding him slightly upright. This time, he felt he had more energy than before. The pain in his chest was still there, but it could be wearing off. Maybe. Hopefully. That'd be great.

He opened his eyes. He recognized his surroundings – the med bay. A sigh escaped his lips. A familiar sight at last! Amaya was there, too, and she just turned her head towards him. He smiled weakly.

"Amaya."

"Nate." A smile appeared on her face and he breathed in relief. It felt good, having her around, though he was certain he'd be just as relieved if anyone else had been here. Except for Mick. Mick wasn't exactly the most emphatic Legend on the timeship.

Despite that smile, he noticed the worry in her eyes. He could understand her – Nate himself was worried about himself as well. Who knew what Ray had done to him…

His eyes widened. _Ray!_ He was still out there. If Nate had enough strength, he would've pushed himself from that chair to get up and go somewhere. Anywhere. Probably to find his friend.

"Ray…" That was all that escaped his mouth, but there was so much he was thinking of. Ray did this. Ray attacked me. Ray is a traitor. Except that Ray wasn't the kind of person that would betray his team. The Ray Palmer he knew was too good a person to ever willingly hurt a friend.

"We know," Amaya said. "He's in the brig, he can't hurt anyone."

Nate nodded. Good, they caught him. Good. Thankfully, nobody else would get hurt.

Then, he frowned. again, something didn't feel right about the situation. "Why'd he do this?" He lowered his voice, for this seemed the highest volume he could speak. His energy was fading.

"We're trying to figure it out," Amaya responded, not taking her eyes off of him.

Nate's stomach churned and the pain intensified. He moaned, gritted his teeth. It was over before he was well aware that it had started. He wasn't getting any better. But he was in the med bay and it seemed like Gideon was back online as well. So why wasn't he getting better, then?

"I'm not healing?" He softly said it out loud when he realized that.

 _"I'm afraid I can't help you yet, Dr. Heywood_." Nate frowned – so Gideon was here, but couldn't do anything? What was up with that? He turned his head to Amaya, hoping for an answer. He either was missing some information or he had forgotten about it. had he forgotten? Maybe, but it was best to have Amaya tell him what was up with Gideon.

"She can't help yet," Amaya said, "Rip's still trying to fix her."

"Great," he groaned. So all he could do now was wait. But there may not be enough time. He still had no idea what was going on and he guessed that his friends didn't know, either. His strength was fading away and he felt scared. The next time he went under, how long would he stay unconscious? Would he even wake up again? Every time he fainted, he could grow weaker and weaker. Until Gideon was able to diagnose and heal him, something needed to be done. Anything would do, really. As long as it meant he would live longer. And he knew just the thing.

"Put me in stasis." He expected Amaya to give him a confused look but she didn't. She nodded once at him as if she agreed with him. "Please…" he continued, and Amaya turned to the screen. Nate couldn't quite make it out, but it probably contained all of his information. He couldn't see what she was doing, but she pressed something on the screen – Gideon couldn't do it, so she had to press a button manually. When Amaya turned to him again, he could feel unconsciousness tug at him, gently urging him to return.

Nate managed to smile at Amaya. "See you soon." It again wasn't louder than a whisper. She probably was still worried, but he had to let her know he was going to be fine, even if it wasn't sure yet. Soon, all thoughts were cleared from his head. He closed his eyes, waiting for the stasis to put him under.

This was nicer. This time, it didn't feel like something forcefully yanked him back into the darkness against his will. This time, he just felt an overwhelming urge to fall asleep, an urge he was not going to or could not fight. This time, it felt good. This time, it was wanted.

As he slipped away, he heard something. Or maybe not. he had no idea whether it was a fabrication of his mind or not, but he could've sworn Amaya replied to his goodbye.

"See you soon, Nate."


	5. Silence

**Atarya QueenofEgypt: Um, have you seen "Here I Go Again" and "The Curse of the Earth Totem"? Because I'm pretty sure they like each other. I will not combine this with Lab Rats, nor will I write for that fandom again. I've lost inspiration for that show. Thanks for reviewing.**

 **Ladyawesome45321: Yeah, they sure are suspicious - though they're not fully aware of what exactly is going on yet. Thanks for reviewing!**

* * *

Ray needed to talk.

Sara walked to the brig with a tray of food in her hands. For Ray. He had woken up half an hour ago – she watched it happen. The first few minutes, Ray had asked Gideon to let him out. Sara wouldn't let the artificial intelligence free him. He yelled once, then calmed down and sat on the small bench. Sara had waited to visit him, to see whether he whether he would do something else, but he just sat there. Either he was too deep in thought or he was waiting for something to happen. Whatever the case, Sara had a bad feeling about it.

She'd asked Gideon to assemble her team in the bridge. From there, she could project a live feed from the brig. The remaining Legends could watch as Sara tried to interrogate Ray.

'Interrogation' was such a strong word, one she wouldn't want to use in this context. All she wanted to know was what had gotten into him and why he attacked. She wouldn't be surprised to see red eyes glowing and hoped to see them. Red eyes meant Ray had been pushed away, it meant he was innocent. If no red eyes showed up, it meant something was terribly wrong with him.

Sara walked into the brig and looked aside. Ray was still in the same position as she last saw him: sitting on the bench, hands folded and shoulders slumped forward. The one thing that differed from his posture the past half an hour was his gaze. He never let Sara out of sight, his eyes fixed on her.

Sara stopped when she stood in front of the locked cell door and, albeit it with some space between, in front of Ray. She placed the tray on the ground and shoved it towards her prisoner via the small food compartment. It was still slightly out, so Sara could still reach it and pull it out. Ray did not pay much attention to it – he rather stared at his captain.

Sara looked into his eyes and tried to figure out what was going on inside of him before trying to talk to him. The conveyed emotions could help her understand his situation better. But she saw nothing in his eyes. No joy, no regret, just nothing. It was void of any emotion. They weren't red, but maybe Mallus was behind this, after all.

"Ray, what happened out there?" she asked. He refused to say a word or perhaps he wasn't allowed to speak. He continued to stare, which could be interpreted as a cry for help, though it did not feel that way.

"Talk to me, Ray." He did not obey. Sara got the feeling that is wasn't going to work.

She sighed and leaned slightly forward, her arms crossed. "Look, we want to help you, but we can't do that if you don't give us anything to work with."

Ray leaned against the wall and folded his arms. His staring could be interpreted as him daring her to carry on, fully knowing he wouldn't open his mouth but to eat.

"You don't want to talk?" Sara continued, crouched down so she could easily reach the tray. "Not even after a good meal?"

Ray's eyes shifted from Sara's face to the food tray. His gaze rested there for a while as if he was weighing his options until he looked at Sara again. It did not seem to distract him much, but he had to be hungry, considering how long it had been since he last had a proper meal. Ray sighed inaudibly and leaned forward, getting ready to get up and come closer, to get his meal. When he was on his feet, Sara pulled the tray to her again, only its edge still within Ray's cell.

"Are you ready to answer some questions?" Ray let out a deep breath and sat down again. Sara pushed the tray back in, stood up and they continued to stare.

A fifteen-minute silence followed. All they did was watch one another. Ray's eyes did shift to the food on the tray from time to time. All the while, Sara tried to interpret his actions and the look in his eyes again. He always had been the one who wore his heart on his sleeve, and now he seemed to have shut himself away from the world. Mallus did that. Mallus reduced Ray to the person sitting in that cell. And if Mallus was capable of doing that, then what else could he do to the rest of her team?

After too long, Ray stood up again. Slowly, hesitantly, he made his way to the tray. He was testing the waters, to see what Sara was going to do. But it's been too long. They both knew she wasn't going to deny him any food. He took the tray and walked back to his seat with it. Soon after, he began his meal.

Sara watched it happen and sighed. He was not going to talk – at least, not now. She reluctantly walked away. She did pause right before exiting the brig and took one last look at Ray. He wasn't looking at her anymore and quickly ate the food presented to him as if someone was going to take it away from him.

She walked out of the brig and made her way to the bridge. Her team – what was left of it – was waiting for her and had followed the rather one-sided conversation from there. Zari, Amaya, and Rip were the only ones she saw. She'd expected to see Mick and Leo as well, but they weren't present. Mick probably skipped this group session in favor of drinking away his pain and Leo went after him to make sure he wouldn't do anything too stupid. Ava couldn't make it, either, but Sara expected it. In order to allow Rip to take part in this conversation, Ava had decided to take over repairing the Waverider.

"You did the best you could," Amaya told her as soon as Sara walked in. The captain nodded, though it didn't feel like it. Even after almost half an hour, he still wouldn't talk. That wasn't much material to work with – rather, none at all.

Sara folded her arms. "I don't know what to do with him," she openly admitted to the group.

"Me neither," Zari said, "It's like he doesn't want to be helped." The group nodded their heads in agreement. That was yet another problem – how could you possibly begin to help someone who does not want to be helped?

"He's got to be hiding something," Rip said. He leaned heavily on the console to relieve his wounded leg. "He wouldn't stay that quiet if there was nothing to hide."

"Like what?" Sara asked. What could Ray possibly have to hide?

"Or maybe not," Amaya said. "He's withdrawn. Something happened to him while he was gone, that's why he's silent."

Sara found herself agreeing with Amaya and Rip, though unsure about what to believe. Ray didn't look withdrawn, but people who were hiding things usually seemed more nervous in their behavior. Ray sat there relaxed; not while he wanted to be there, but while he had made peace with his situation. She wouldn't be surprised if Ray was waiting for the right time to strike.

"Well," Sara eventually said, "Whatever happened, I hope he's not too damaged."


	6. The Depot

**Ladyawesome45321: Thanks for the review! You won't be disappointed (I hope).**

* * *

The Waverider landed next to the Depot. Nate, Ray, Mick, Zari, and Amaya stayed on the ship while Sara, Leo, and Rip would explore the building. Since this was a scouting mission, they could leave members of their team behind. Mick was supposed to come with them, but he rather stayed on the ship than to come along. Nobody knew what he was going to do, and nobody dared ask either. Except for Leo. He didn't get an answer, just an invitation to never bother him while he's taking some 'me-time'.

Sara, Leo, and Rip exited the Waverider and walked onto the gravel, looking at the five-story building in front of them. The Depot was nothing more than an ugly square block of concrete with very few windows, most of which were at the top. From their point of view, they could only see one entrance: a side door for emergency exits. There probably was a bigger entrance somewhere else, but not on their side of the building.

Other than the building and the Waverider, there was nothing to be seen for miles on end. Small gravel hills with little vegetation surrounded the Depot. Enemies had no chance of sneaking up on the building – everyone inside would be alerted and any unauthorized people that would come too close could be dealt with within seconds.

"You'd think such an important building has more security," Leo said.

"It is secure, Mr. Snart," Rip responded, hesitating. "You don't see a lot of the measures. Most of them are inside of the building." He could not bring himself to look at Leo while he spoke. It still was hard to look at him without remembering the Leonard he knew, the one that sacrificed himself to defeat the Time Masters. Despite the many differences, Rip noticed some similarities as well. This version of Snart, just like the one he'd known, had gone through hell on his Earth and it made him into the man he had become. Other than that, the whole Earth-X thing made him wonder what his own Earth-X counterpart would be like.

Soon, they had reached the side entrance. Rip frowned as they got closer. Something seemed wrong, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. The closer he came, the clearer he could see it. The door was left open at just a crack. Hard to detect from afar, easy to spot once you approached and came close enough. There were marks on the walls surrounding it as well. No doubt about it, it had been forced open.

 _Please let it be the Darhks._ It probably was – Damien's magic, rare in this time and place, could have easily canceled out the first line of defense and all others after that.

"Looks like you were right," Sara said. Rip could only stare at the door with wide eyes. He had been right, Damien was here! He was so close now…

Rip, without answering, walked into the building. There was no time to lose. If Damien really was here, then that must mean Nora would be accompanying him. Nora was Mallus' main and so far only known vessel, and he was exactly what the former Time Master was after. He had another chance to confront him, to fight him, to figure out what could possibly beat him. And if he couldn't… there were more than enough weapons in the Depot. Surely one of them could end Mallus once and for all.

Rip walked in front of the group. It may look like he knew where he was going, but he had only been here once before too long ago. The corridors tended to stay the same, but that didn't mean it would be easy to figure out which turns he had to take. He marked the walls each time they were faced with a decision between two or more possible ways to go.

"Question," Sara said, "where are we going?"

"To the middle of the building," Rip said. "This was specifically designed to hold up anyone who would try to break in." For all we know, Damien could be stuck in this maze, the outer circle of the building. He did not communicate this with the rest, given that Damien probably found a way around this problem.

The scene changed not much after that conversation. The corridors became longer and there were fewer corners to turn around. Other hallways appeared regularly and had more lighting. They had left the outer circle. It became even clearer when they came across the first cell. The group stopped in front of it and watched. The cell number carved above the door hadn't faded yet.

"What did they keep here?" Sara asked, hoping that it was something, even though she knew better.

"People," Leo responded. Rip had the feeling Snart spoke from experience. It was that look in his eyes that gave it away. However much they wished it wasn't true, but people would always continue to lock up their enemies or assets.

"Sometimes, people with great powers can be the greatest weapons," Rip said. He turned his back on the cell and walked away, not wanting to linger too long. It reminded him of his own incarceration. Had he really only been free for a few hours? However long it was, Rip was aware that they still hadn't forgiven him and that they could turn on him any second. For now, he was in the clear, but as soon as they were outside or when he overstayed his welcome, he'd have to go. Oh, the disadvantages of being a fugitive.

Leo and Sara only lingered a moment longer than necessary, but they soon followed. Sara looked around and tried to imagine people walking up and down these halls on a daily basis. She tried to imagine someone was trapped in there, but couldn't and didn't want to think about it. They passed many doors, both like and unlike the cell door, behind which great stories lay. Whatever it had once been, it now was not. The halls and cells were empty. Spider webs were hanging from the ceiling and against the walls. Nobody has been here for a very long time. Considering what Rip and Gideon had told Sara about this place, maybe it was better this way.

Other than doors on the side were small vaults, almost closets, all with a serial number carved above its doors. They appeared at random and came in all sizes. That had to be where the people from this time kept their dangerous weapons. Most of them had a lock on it and possibly invisible security measures as well. They passed one of these vaults, with a human-sized door and a laser grid protecting its contents. Whatever lay behind those, it couldn't be good. Seeing it did make her feel relief that, if Damien was here, he had chosen to leave this one vault alone.

Rip, Sara and Leo took a right, into a somewhat wider corridor. There were four of these closets, these vaults spread over its length and Damien Darhk was studying the contents of the nearest vault he had broken open.

"Damien Darhk," Sara said. Leo drew his gun while she took out her batons. Rip's back straightened – Nora Darhk wasn't here. "You're not getting your hands on those weapons."

"You mean, like this?" Damien took what looked like a small dark orb in his hand.

If he wanted to say anything else, he could not continue. The Legends wanted to take him down and didn't allow for him to go on.

There were just seven yards between them, both parties stuck in that hallway to fight. Somehow, they made it work. Sara charged first, Leo right behind her.

Damien didn't allow Sara to come too close. He telekinetically grabbed her by her throat and for just a few seconds, he put great pressure on it to the point of nearly crushing it. He did not have the luxury to carry on, for Leo and Rip were still there as well. Damien threw Sara to the open space behind him and just barely managed to dodge the freezing cold rushing towards him. With one gesture, he threw the cold gun into the wall, but Leo wasn't going to give up that easily.

Damien allowed Leo to come closer. Snart had always been a better fighter than Mick, but the doppelganger seemed to be better than before. Neither of them was able to land a blow on the other. Damien pointed an open palm at Leo, stopping him in his movements, and threw him backward. Leo almost hit Rip, but Snart ended up slamming into the wall. Leo didn't immediately get up.

Damien turned his head to Rip, who got himself ready to attack, even though he didn't have a weapon – Sara wouldn't allow it. Damien laughed – this was going to be fun.

A sharp pain spread in Damien's shoulder before he could make a move on Rip. The resurrected man turned around and had to block an attack from Sara Lance. She was ready for an actual fight. Well, Damien could always take care of Rip later. She was the bigger threat.

They engaged in combat. They fought well – Damien barely used his magic, instead preferring hand-to-hand combat today, though she was using her batons. The two were evenly matched and their fight could take a while. Damien forced Sara back, leaving the vault exposed.

Rip wouldn't let it get that far. He ran over to the vault and looked inside. A sigh escaped his mouth – Damien hadn't taken anything except for the orb. He grabbed the first weapon he saw. It was a short blade that appealed more to him and looked like it could do some damage.

Rip wasn't prepared for the whispers. As soon as Rip touched it, they started talking. He should have dropped or thrown the weapon right away, but did not. He heard them while time slowed down and the room started to spin.

The whispers reminded him of all the times he had failed the people around him. As the memories and guilt washed over him, flashes of past events came up: Jonas and Miranda, Dr. Midnight, the agents in Victorian England. The whispers suggested to end it. _It's good here,_ they said. _It's calm here. Join us._

Rip almost listened. He snapped out of it when Sara slammed into the ground. He shook his head – _not today._ Not while his former team needed him. Mystic weapons had always been the worst. The whispers reached out to him again but before he could start to listen to them again, he threw it at Damien.

The blade stopped mid-air and floated at that spot. Rip's face went pale – Damien had caught it and he could already predict how this was going to end.

"You shouldn't have done that," Damien said. The blade turned around and with as much force as it was thrown, it now raced back towards Rip. He stepped aside, hoping to dodge something that couldn't easily be dodged given the circumstances.

The blade lodged itself in Rip's thigh. The former Time Master screamed in pain and fell to the ground. He reached for the wound. All he wanted to do was to remove it, even if that would make things worse. Tears streamed down his face and between them he could see Damien grin. He also watched Sara get up and attack Damien from behind, though he didn't pay much attention.

Damien was taken aback by her attack, as he had thought he didn't have to worry about miss Lance anymore. That was his mistake – he should have worried more, for she was a dangerous woman who was more than capable of jeopardizing the entire plan.

It had gotten him hurt. It wasn't too bad, but he couldn't afford to lose too much these days. He also was there alone – his daughter was taking care of the Legends on the Waverider and calling on her for back-up wasn't something he'd easily do. Besides, he had what he had come here for.

Time to leave.

Damien ran past Rip and Leo into the outer circle of the Depot. As much as Sara would like to go after him, she refrained from doing so. She'd only be lured into the labyrinth part of the compound, where she would most definitely lose her way trying to chase the man that killed her sister. Also, Rip needed medical attention.

Sara walked to Rip while Leo was waking up again. He reached for the gun and looked around for Damien. Sara sat on her knees beside Rip.

"You okay?"

"Does it _look_ like I'm okay?" Rip asked through gritted teeth.

He needed to get back to the ship. Sara picked him up and he gasped for air. Somehow, being upright made it hurt even more. Leo lowered the gun and came to them to help.

Rip did not know what to think. That was exceptionally nice coming from Snart, he thought. He briefly had forgotten about Leonard's fate. But Sara got it covered and Leo instead provided cover, should Damien show up again and ambush them.

They moved slowly, but steadily. It wasn't easy moving around with a blade stuck in your thigh, but they tried to make the best of it. Rip walked along as not to put too much pressure on Sara, but that wasn't always easy. Every so often, they took a small break so Rip could catch his breath. Leo watched out for Damien and guided them to the exit, helped greatly by the markings Rip made when they entered the building. After what felt like ages, they were greeted by a setting sun and a soft breeze.

Rip only had eyes for the Waverider. In his joy of finding he exit and being so close to being healed, he almost didn't notice.

"Something's wrong," Sara said, looking at the ship. She and Leo had stopped walking. Then Rip saw it, too. It was quiet. The hatch to the cargo bay was left open, while Rip was certain it had closed behind them.

"Nobody's responding," Leo said, holding a hand to his ear. Usually, someone would always reply, even if it was just Gideon taking over from the Legends if they were too busy. But when there was no response…

"That's not good," Rip said.


	7. Lost

**MobiBlue: Thanks for reviewing! You'll find out what happened to him within the next month if I'm not mistaken.**

 **LadyAwesome45321: I'm glad you liked it. Thanks for the review!**

* * *

While Damien Darhk was breaking into the Depot, his daughter Nora came to the Waverider after Rip, Leo, and Sara had entered the building. The plan was simple – slow them down, don't give them any chance to screw them over until they had finished.

Damien was only after one weapon from the Depot. It was for Grodd. They had heard it could increase his range beyond his capabilities. They'd made a deal with him: they would bring him this weapon and in turn, he would help them achieve their goals and he would not take control of either of them. Not that he could do such a thing to begin with, but it was better to warn the ape that he shouldn't try anything funny.

Nora had watched the three Legends the Depot. So there were still five left on the ship: Mick, Nate, Amaya, Ray, and Zari. Until they found her, she would just have to ground the ship and possibly destroy it. She did hope they'd find her.

With only a thought, she entered the cargo bay of the ship and without waiting around, Nora walked towards the engine room. She had never been inside the ship, but she had a good idea where to go to reach her goal. It wasn't too far away, and she'd almost gotten close enough when her first victim turned around the corner.

Zari Tomaz. She just came walking towards her and the shocked look on her face made it clear she had been unaware of the stowaway. Just the way Nora liked it.

She did not hesitate and neither did Zari. While the totem bearer got into a fighting stance, Nora was already prepared for battle. With her telekinesis, she threw Zari into the wall. There was a loud bang when Zari and the wall made contact, loud enough for anyone to hear. Zari fell to the ground and groaned, not ready to get up and also still conscious. That could be fixed.

Nora grabbed the air and squeezed tightly. Zari grabbed her throat and gasped for air, but it was to no avail. Suffocation was nice since it was fast enough to kill someone efficiently and slow enough to make them suffer. Zari was already getting weaker. Nora allowed a smile on her face. Any second now…

Zari's eyes rolled back into her head when Amaya walked in on them. Nora let go when she saw the other totem bearer. Unlike Zari, she was prepared for a confrontation.

Amaya touched her totem and the spirit of a bear appeared around her. The next moment, she charged at the intruder and Nora braced herself, being unable to move out of the way in time. Amaya hit her and it sent her flying a couple of yards. Once she landed, she got up immediately and looked at Amaya, who was breathing heavily.

Nora grinned. "My turn."

The events that unfolded before her were a bit hazy. That was a lesser side-effect of harnessing Mallus' power. Sometimes, he came along with the powers he had granted her. The red eyes were the most prominent sign of his presence. Whenever he came, she was pushed back and as a result, she couldn't remember it as clearly as she should. She did know she gave Amaya hell and soon, this Legend lay unconscious on the ground as well.

She had not killed them. She had not come to kill, anyway. Mallus whispered to her, always watching her every move. It should scare her, but it didn't. It gave her comfort in some sort of twisted way, knowing a centuries-old entity had granted her these powers for as long as she accepted to be his host, knowing he always had her back when she needed to call upon said powers.

She had left them in this weakened state because Mallus wanted to deal with them in the long term. They had been a nuisance. He claimed they would undo him in the future and wanted to prevent this once he walked the earth himself again. Nora had no idea what exactly Mallus meant but had made it perfectly clear that he wanted to do the honor of killing the Legends himself.

She left Amaya and Zari on the ground and continued towards the engine room to complete her goal: destroy the Waverider. It wasn't exactly hard to do as long as she didn't get caught and defeated. She walked away as though nothing had happened, though she was on high alert. She could be attacked at any moment by the men that had stayed behind on the ship.

But nothing happened and she found the engine room without running into any trouble. There wasn't too much light in here, but it wasn't dark either. Either way, she knew what she had to do.

She pulled apart everything she could get her hands on, destroyed everything in sight. The lights turned red – a sign that anytime now, someone could walk in and fight her. She chose to ignore it – until her opponents arrived, she'd continue to rip it all apart. One more cable snapped in half and it was getting colder. She ripped a piece of metal casing off of something and destroyed its insides. She turned to a bigger construction and wondered how she could best ruin it.

"Nora Darhk." She rolled her eyes. Must they always announce themselves? She turned around and faced the man who could turn to steel. Even though he was already covered in steel, he felt the need to wear a superhero suit. Ray and Mick were nowhere to be seen – they still had to suit up, no doubt. Bad move on their part – this just gave her the opportunity to take them out one hero at a time.

She expected him to continue talking, but he didn't. He preferred to jump right into battle and charged at her. With an open palm, Nora stopped him with her powers. Nate struggled to free himself from the temporary paralysis, which made it harder for her to keep her grasp on him. Yet, she still had him – resistance was futile and he was stuck in that position. She couldn't resist a short laugh. Seeing him struggle like that pleaser her. These heroes, though having had many victories, also had suffered many losses. They weren't invincible and it was great to remind them how fragile and weak they were.

She raised her open palm and Nate went up in the air, still in that same position. Nora closed her hand and crushed the man. Nate groaned in pain and she wondered how long it would take him to get rid of that steel layer in this painful position.

Something sharp hit her on her shoulder. It made her lose her concentration and she let go of Nate, who fell to the ground. Next to him, Ray Palmer in his own suit grew back to human size, asking Nate whether he was okay. So it had been him who shot her.

Ray wasn't completely stupid. There was a brain somewhere in that pretty head of his. Though his intentions were good, his actions were not. While he was distracted by his injured friend, he thought it was a good idea to send another light blast in her direction. She caught this with ease. Shouldn't they have learned by now?

She released it and sent it back towards them. The men braced for it and upon impact, they flew through the air and landed on their backs. Nora walked towards them after they had hit the ground. She'd already done a lot of damage to the engine room, so why not damage these heroes as well? The less fit they were, the easier it would be to defeat them next time. An enemy shouldn't always be weaker, but it did help a lot.

Nora decided she disliked the man of steel more than the shrinking man. She knelt down and grabbed his de-steeled shoulder. Sometimes, it was worth getting your hands dirty. Nate gripped the hand, but failed to push her away. He was already too weak to fight back and with every passing second, he grew even weaker. His life force was slipping away from him, his face turning to a dull gray. If she held on long enough, she could drain him enough to put him in a coma, like her father did to Sara. Or even better, he may not be able to wake up at all. That sure would affect the team morale.

"No," Ray said after a few seconds, rolling over onto his other shoulder to face them. Nora glanced sideways. Couldn't he be silent? Oh well, he'd be next anyway.

 _Nora Darhk._

It wasn't the first time he spoke. It came so unexpectedly that she released Nate. Mallus asked for one small favor in return for everything she had been given. Nora agreed.

 _Take him,_ he whispered when Nora looked at Ray. Bring him here.

Nora knew that Sara briefly visited Mallus' realm. It had happened because the Legend held onto her and her father as they fled the Viking battlefield. Sara was only there for a short time when Ava took her back before Mallus could do anything. He had told Nora of this encounter and now, he wished for the weak scientist to be taken to his realm.

She had no idea what Mallus wanted this weakling for. She did know Mallus had enjoyed the presence in his prison and wished for another soul to torment. Sara Lance would've been great, but it seemed he had settled for Ray Palmer instead.

Nora glanced at Nate, who gasped for a breath of air. He wasn't unconscious. He hadn't held the man long enough. Still, it had weakened him, and so she focused on Ray and grabbed his shoulder. She took her necklace with the other hand and thought of Mallus. Its glow announced their departure and Nora closed her eyes.

She did not open them. She did not have to – she remembered the place from her childhood and would rather not spend any more time here or see that wretched place ever again. She let go of the self-proclaimed hero and returned to the engine room of the Waverider.

Nate was still on the ground when she returned. What seemed like seconds over there was even shorter in the physical world – to him, it had to look like she transported Ray somewhere with just one touch, not even seeing her leave with Ray.

Nate shouted his friend's name, his eyes fixed on the open space next to him, hoping that Ray would somehow reappear. He did not. Nate turned his head to Nora and glared at the woman.

"Where did you take him?" he shouted.

"Don't worry," she said calmly. "He's with Mallus now." Nate's eyes widened in shock and fear, looking away from her. It gave her so much pleasure she stayed a little while longer just to see the despair on his face. He did not even lash out at her.

After a while, though, she decided it was time to leave. She's wasted enough time already. She had already completed her mission – destroy the Waverider. The lights were still on, but she was certain that the ship's other functions were out of order now. It was time to join her father again. She touched her necklace again and thought of the entrance of the Depot. She disappeared no second later.

* * *

Gone. Ray was gone.

Nate lay on the ground, seemingly frozen. One moment, Ray Palmer was lying next to him and the other he's gone. Nate did not even attempt to stop Nora Darhk when she decided to leave them. He did not fight back, while he should have. And now Ray had been snatched away from them right under his nose.

Amaya and Zari came running into the room and stopped, looking at the damage that's been done. While Zari was still looking, Amaya knelt down and helped Nate to stand. He was dizzy and drained, but he should still be able to stand and walk without falling.

"What happened in here?" Zari asked. Nate heard it, but focused on the second question, asked by Amaya.

"Where's Ray?"

"He's got him," Nate responded. He glanced at the ground. "Mallus got him. I should've stopped him." He was such a bad friend. He should've done something, anything, even if it was just reaching out for the vessel and trying to keep her here.

Amaya placed a hand on his shoulder. "You did the best you could." Nate shrugged off the hand and shook his head.

"No, I didn't. I—"

His attention was diverted to Mick, who just came walking in with a burrito in his hand. He was still chewing on his latest bite. Seeing Mick like this did not surprise him, but it did irritate him. Mick could've helped, he should've helped.

"What's going on?" He asked. Nate couldn't believe his ears. How dare he ask that question? Maybe, if he had shown up instead of eating, he would've known. He could've helped to prevent Nora from taking Ray away from them.

"What's go- where _were_ you?" Nate raised his voice.

"None of your business," Mick said. He took another bite.

"Typical," Nate said, "We're fighting on the ship and you're doing nothing at all!" At the end, Nate was shouting and the two ladies just stared in shock. This was not something they'd seen coming.

"Nate-"

"No." He told Zari. He sighed and then walked away, to the library or his sleeping quarters – he wasn't sure yet. So long as they didn't follow him, so long as they left him alone. Some time alone to think about what had just happened might be what he needed. And maybe, he could find a way to get Ray back.


	8. Silence broken

**One thing before we start: even though the writers have given Ray a more profound bond with Nora, I still feel like they're setting Zari up as a possible love interest for him. I've had that feeling for a while now and maybe, for a possible season 4, they might get together, though only time will tell.**

 **Ladyawesome45321: Yeah, from now on things will be clearer (hopefully). Past and present are coming closer together, though we've still got a long way to go. Thanks for reviewing!**

* * *

Amaya knew they should wait to see what Ray would do. See how he'd react to imprisonment, who he'd call upon for help.

Amaya could not wait. Nate was in the med bay and, although stable in that position, he was still hurt and unconscious until Zari and Rip fixed Gideon. Amaya needed something to do in the meantime. She needed to know what happened to Ray now, what or who's gotten into his head. Maybe then she could forgive him. If he explained, maybe she might forgive him.

Ray was still slouching on the bench and he'd placed the now empty food tray in front of him on the ground. He looked at her with interest as Amaya walked through the brig. He could be anticipating something, but it was hard to tell. He still wouldn't let anything on.

"What did you do to Nate?" Ray folded his arms and leaned back, tilting his head. He stared at her, daring her to continue.

Amaya sighed inaudibly. He didn't talk a while back and it looked like he wasn't going to talk now either.

"Ray, please. I'm not asking for anything. Just talk to me."

Ray averted his eyes and looked sideways. Amaya took this as her cue to leave. But before she could walk out of the brig, he spoke at last.

"How is he?" It was a simple question, but it was all he needed to stop her. She turned her head and saw Ray staring at her again. He showed no worry and had asked it as if he was just curious about the situation, as if he hadn't been the cause of Nate's misery, as if he couldn't care less.

"He's getting better." At least, that's what she liked to believe. In stasis, he could technically not get better, but at least his health wouldn't deteriorate either.

"Are you sure about that?" He asked and stood up from his seat, turning himself to her. "I mean, he might make it, but there'll be damage. Irreparable damage."

Amaya could barely believe her ears. The way Ray talked about it… it was in such an offhand and casual manner that he would use when he talked about a faulty machine. She frowned, shaking her head.

"What's gotten into you?" The Ray she knew would never harm a friend like that or even suggest that he may not recover. The Ray she knew would never give up on any hope that things will be okay.

Ray took a deep breath. "Nothing has." He took a step towards her. "Mallus hasn't laid a finger on me. I'm fine. Hard to believe, isn't it?" A ghost of a smile appeared on his face but it disappeared as quickly as it had come. There was a glint in his eyes that Amaya couldn't quite place. Whatever it was, he masked it well.

"You disappeared," she said, trying to find a reason for his misbehavior. He had disappeared and where he'd been had changed him, influenced him, possibly damaged his brain or changed his memories or perception. No, not his perception. He was fully aware of everything he did and everything that was going on around him.

Ray scoffed. "Did I, now? Thanks for noticing?" He rushed through his words with frustration. His common stare had turned into a glare. It seemed her statement had struck a sensitive chord.

"Ray…" He closed the distance between them within a second. He hit the glass with his fist and leaned in as closely as he could.

"I have _waited_ —" he shouted, but continued in a much softer voice "—for such a long time." He took one step back but did not take his eyes, full of hate, off of Amaya. "When I get out, I promise you, none of you will make it off of this ship."

Amaya shook her head. This could not be happening. This could not be Ray – but it was and she was scared of the man he had become. The way he was acting… he could perfectly blend in with the citizens of Earth-X. He was convinced of his own words and actions and yet, she could see a glimmer of doubt in his eyes. Maybe this was some sort of mind control after all.

"What did Mallus do to you?" she said quietly.

There it was again. That hint of a smile. "I already told you, Mallus didn't touch me. Which is saying something, because he could've done literally anything." For a brief moment, it seemed nothing had happened to him. They could've had this conversation one week ago and he wouldn't sound any different. But he only spoke that way and the Ray she knew was soon gone again.

"Are you on his side?" She needed to know. She expected him to deny it, of course, but she needed to see his reaction. It often said more than a spoken answer.

Ray frowned. "Why would you think that?" he shook his head. "Honestly, Amaya, I… he's pure evil. Can't let him destroy this world."

Amaya watched him. There was something genuine in his speech, about those small movements. He did not let on much during the conversation but if there was one thing Amaya knew, it was that he was adamantly against Mallus and refused to let him destroy the world they were living in. From that point of view, getting rid of the heroes aboard the Waverider didn't seem logical. It confused her even more and she doubted even more about his motivations and intentions.

"You're gonna leave now, aren't you?" He said. "Go ahead. I'll be here if you need me."

He wasn't wrong – she was going to leave him alone. Not by necessity, but because there was nothing more she could think of to ask or tell him. She had gotten some answers to the questions, though not all of them were clear.

"One more thing," Ray stopped her before she reached the door. "Say hi to Nate from me."

Amaya did not respond and left. That last remark did prove to her that Mallus – or one of his subordinates – had pressured him into being someone he hadn't wanted to be, but who he somehow was taught to be.

Now only time will tell whether she was right.

* * *

 _Stupid! You're not going to wish him a happy recovery. You can't!_

By any accounts, he shouldn't feel guilty. Ray did not feel any remorse when he inflicted the pain and he genuinely wondered where that thought had come from. Identifying the cause could help him to avoid it the next time. It could not happen again, it should not happen again.

Maybe it was seeing Amaya. Maybe it was the thought that he and Nate had gotten along before all of this. maybe it was because they've always had each other's backs.

 _No!_ What did Nate do when Nora banished him, where was Amaya? Where were they when Mallus attacked him? Hell, where was the team? He had been so sure but so wrong at the same time. They were coming, he had told himself, but they never came. They deserve it, he told himself. They had not earned his pity. Now was not the time to sympathize with them.

Still, he couldn't stop that one small piece inside of him that truly wished Nate would pull through from speaking up.


	9. Visions

**Ladyawesome45321: Thanks for the review! And Ray had to start talking at some point, so why not talk to Amaya?**

* * *

Ray had stopped trying to keep track of time. It was a useless pastime and it felt like this realm, Time Itself, was actively trying to confuse him.

If you asked him, he would tell you a few hours had passed. Yet, there was a voice inside of him that contradicted this statement. The voice believed it had only been a couple of minutes. The same voice suggested it had been days, maybe even weeks. Ray barely listened to that voice and dared not believe it. He almost did, though, and regarded it as a bad sign.

Thinking of the portal Nora Darhk had sent him through did not help either. Sometimes, the memory was clear as day and it seemed like it had just happened. The next moment, details were hazy and seeing the portal close seemed so far away. He had tried to use this as a reference point to try and measure time, but even that proved unsuccessful. The only constant in this world was his shrunken suit in his pocket - the sand would only creep in the suit's systems, anyway. He held it when he had his hand in his pocket, and that was all the comfort he needed. At least this would not change, at least his suit would not suddenly disappear.

He did not give up hope of being rescued because he knew that neither would his team. They were still looking for him. He had no physical proof but he did not need it to be sure. They were looking for him, period. All he had to do was to wait for them. Quite the boring solution, yes, especially since he had nothing to do. He waited with pleasure, anyway. It beat talking to the ruling entity of these barren lands.

 _"Ray Palmer."_ The scientist groaned. What, now Mallus could read minds, too? Either that or he had impeccable timing.

"What do you want?" He would have shouted if he knew where to direct his anger to. It'd be nice to finally see his face. Everything had a face, so Mallus should have one, too. Hopefully.

 _"There is something you should see."_ A light appeared in front of Ray. It spread into a light blue square and a non-existing wind seemingly kept it in place.

Ray shook his head. "No, I won't." He had no idea how Mallus managed to do this, but those were worries for later. He focused on not watching whatever Mallus had prepared for him. It couldn't be positive, he reasoned. He could gloat about anything. He could show Ray the most terrible of visions, like a future in which he wins and in which he shows the dead bodies of his friends alongside his greatest fears, Age of Ultron-style. Ray did not want to see that.

 _"Watch."_

A shiver went down Ray's spine and he instantly decided to watch, for he did not want to anger this near-literal demon by disobeying. Who knew what would happen if he angered Mallus?

For one brief moment, Ray wondered what he was looking at. Maybe a pattern in the light? His first thought was hypnotism. That thought disappeared when the blue light parted until it had become a framework to some sort of non-existing screen.

The void inside the framework shifted and turned into moving images. Ray recognized what he saw – it was the moment he got dragged away. It was not projected from his perspective, though, but as if it was recorded from a corner of the engine room. Nora Darhk grabbed a hold of him and he disappeared like that. Nora did not even seem to move.

Nate shouted something and Ray could only guess what that was since there was no sound accompanying the video. Nate said something else to Nora and she might have answered (Ray could not see her face properly) before leaving. Amaya and Zari turned around the corner right as Nora was gone. Zari paid attention to the damage while Amaya helped Nate stand on his feet.

An uneasy feeling washed over Ray. _If they'd only been faster… no._ He shook his head. He shouldn't think like that – that was presumably what Mallus wanted. There had to be a logical explanation for their tardiness. Maybe they indeed noticed too late that there was an attack. Maybe Nora attacked them before reaching the engine room. They'd been busy, too, and there was no shame in recovering from injuries before trying to fight someone again.

The images shifted. What followed was a montage of all the heroic deeds yet to come. John Constantine performed an exorcism on a middle-aged man who wore a kilt. Wally West, as Kid Flash, swept in and rushing Sara away from attackers in what seemed to be a futuristic militaristic Star City. Many more followed, all of them heroic and none of them negative at all.

Ray frowned. Why would Mallus show him all the good things that were going to happen? He had a hard time figuring out why, but he tried nevertheless. Maybe Mallus was after one tiny piece of information, hidden away in these clips. Maybe he needed Ray to blurt out exactly what he needed to know after finding a connection between these images of a future Ray hadn't lived yet.

The last image showed Jax with a smile on his face, standing in the bridge of the Waverider. Sara shook his hand and smiled, too. The entire team was present, including Wally and excluding Leo, welcoming him back after a long time of absence.

Ray went over the image as it replayed itself over and over again. There was something off about this and eventually, Ray noticed. He wasn't there in the video. Everyone but him. Even Mick was there! And now that he thought about it, he never caught a glimpse of himself during those flash-forwards while everyone else featured at least twice.

There had to be a reason why he wasn't there. Worst case scenario, he could already be dead. He could be captured by an enemy. He could have missed out on Jax's return because he was in the med bay and couldn't physically make it. Or, best case scenario, he found a good reason to give up his superhero life for and was safely back in his own time. But there was absolutely no way they would stop looking for him.

 _"Do you see now?"_ Somehow, Mallus' voice sounded softer this time around. It sounded as if he was worried about Ray's well-being. Ray decided he liked the scary villain voice best. _"They will abandon you."_

"They don't."

 _"They have. Face the truth. They don't care."_

"You're wrong," Ray muttered under his breath, finally averting his eyes from the image. Lies. Nothing but lies. Mallus is a great liar and deceiver.

 _"Even Jefferson Jackson returns before you do."_

"So?" He turned his back to the blue framework and looked up. There was nothing, but he felt the need to address Mallus directly. "So what if he comes back before I do? He can return and I'll have spent a couple of human years here. That doesn't mean they stopped trying to get me back." He pointed at the images behind him. "Sara Lance is still on that ship. As long as she's there, she'll try to come and find me. They all will. And I'll be right here, waiting."

A sense of pride emerged inside of him. sure, there will probably be some horrible payback – he had no idea how Mallus dealt with people questioning him and resisting his influence – but he was glad he talked back. That demon thought it would make him lose hope, seeing those images, but he did not know Ray Palmer. He'd keep waiting and hoping, even if it meant spending a lifetime in this place.

It remained silent. The framework of light disappeared behind him and his eyes had to adjust to the darkness again. Something moved in the distance and Ray wondered whether there was any wind in this realm after all. That something took the shape of a dark hand and reached out for the scientist.

Ray immediately regretted talking back. He turned and ran hoping to outrun the hand, but it was no use. The large hand, made of darkness, was faster and gripped Ray's head tightly.

Ray screamed in agony. The hand fit around his head and crushed his skull while at the same time all sorts of thoughts and emotions flooded his brains. Ray fell to his knees and tried to pry the fingers loose, but there was nothing but darkness. Tears formed in his eyes and he shouted until his throat was hoarse.

In this prison, time could feel long and short at the same time. While this torture may have lasted at most one minute in the real world, it felt like an eternity Ray could not escape from. When the hand finally released him, the prisoner gasped for air and fell to the ground, panting.

The passage of time scared him now more than ever. Even though it had happened mere seconds ago, it already felt like it's been hours since it passed. Though the pain faded, the thoughts and emotions it had left in him did not.

As soon as the hand had grasped him, there were whispers and thoughts flooding his brain and emotions leaving its mark on his soul. He barely remembered what he had heard. There were so many voices that he could not make out what they were trying to tell him. But those emotions… Ray shuddered.

There was despair, sadness, shock. It left a hole in his stomach, created a void that could barely be filled. Then there was also anger, envy, vengeance and other negative emotions of the sort. He didn't care why Mallus wanted him to feel it, he was just glad it was over, even though the bitter taste of these emotions lingered inside of him. Maybe Mallus had hoped some of these feelings would stick. Whatever the goal, it had taught Ray not to talk back with a hope-speech.

Ray wouldn't let that demon get what he wanted. He'd correct these feelings if they showed up. He knew they were not his own, he knew they were wrong.

But what if he did let them in?

 _Calm down._ thinking about it couldn't be good for him either. _It's going to be fine. They're coming. They'll rescue me from this place. They'll find me._

 _They will, right?_


	10. Respite

**Is anyone else excited for the last episode? I know I already can't wait to see it. Jax, Jonah Hex & Constantine will be back and the final battle will begin! What do you think will happen during the episode? Leave your ideas in the review, if you like. **

**Ladyawesome45321: Well, Ray (not) losing hope depends on what Mallus does to him before he gets out of the hellscape. Thanks for reviewing!**

* * *

Leo carried Rip aboard the Waverider while Sara entered it before them. There weren't any lights on and it was eerily calm. All the sounds you'd expect on a time ship were missing.

"Gideon?" Sara called out into the darkness. There came no response. She tried again.

"Not good," Rip said softly. Sara nodded and looked behind her. In the light of the sun, she noticed his face had turned pale. She suspected he hadn't collapsed yet out of sheer stubbornness and refusal to go unconscious. He stood only with Leo's help but wished to still try and walk with said help.

They slowly edged closer to the bridge, Sara in the lead and the two men behind her. Leo activated the cold gun and provided little light for them, though it was more than enough to see what was right in front of them. After a while, their eyes adjusted to the darkness ahead and could make out some basic shapes. Every now and then, a spark illuminated their path even more. They walked around most carefully, for their enemies could still be lurking in the dark, waiting for them to arrive.

Miraculously, it only took them ten minutes to reach the bridge. It was just as dark as in the hallways, though there was one spark near the control panel that dimly lit the room. it wasn't much, but they could at least look around. There wasn't much visible damage to the room, though it was weird not to see any screens on the central console working or displaying data. Whatever had happened, the bridge had come out relatively unscathed.

"I need to sit," Rip said. "Put me down, put me down!" Leo was planning to take him to the med bay, but he changed his course and walked to the nearest seat. Carefully, he placed the former captain on the chair. Rip immediately shifted so he would not put too much pressure on the wound, to relieve the pain. It didn't help much, especially with that blade still wedged in his thigh. It still felt good to sit down, even for a little while.

Sara watched Rip. Other than his pale face, she now saw he was getting worse. He was sweating and shaking like crazy. His breath was deep and irregular. He needed medical attention, but Gideon was still offline. So far, all they could do was to bring him to the med bay and make sure he was comfortable.

Small beams of light flashed in the distance, going up and down as if someone who was holding a flashlight was coming closer. Sara did not call out, but she didn't go up there either. She watched carefully, waiting for anyone to come through the door.

"Sara!" Amaya and Mick walked into the bridge. Their flashlights illuminated the room just a little more. Zari, Nate, and Ray weren't with them.

"What happened here?" Sara asked them.

"Nora attacked," Amaya said. "She did a lot of damage in the engine room. Zari's already on it."

"She took Haircut," Mick added to the conversation. Amaya glanced sideways at him while Sara frowned.

"What?"

"Nora took Ray," Amaya explained. "She sent him to Mallus."

The temperature seemed to drop a couple of degrees. _Mallus has Ray._ Just when she thought it couldn't get worse than Rip being wounded and Damien escaping with an orb. Nora had come and struck hard to destroy the ship. No, not the ship itself – just Gideon and other basic systems, like their electricity. Without her, it would be impossible to fly the time ship and escape this time period. If the Darhks ever decided to go back to this moment, they would be able to get on board without any difficulty and just do whatever they wanted. They could always continue to create anachronisms, ones that the Legends couldn't fix as long as they were grounded.

And then Ray… Sara remembered every second she spent in Mallus' hellscape, even though it wasn't that long. If Nora really did take him to Mallus, then Ray was condemned to spending his time there until they found a way to get him back. A fate she wouldn't wish on anyone. Who knew what Mallus had already done to him?

Rip hissed and held his thigh, pangs of pain seemingly going through his leg. Only then did Mick and Amaya notice him and Leo. It wasn't too dark anymore, though if you didn't know where they were, you wouldn't be able to spot them.

"What happened to him?" Mick asked out of sheer curiosity.

"Damien Darhk," Sara said. Mick nodded, neither impressed nor surprised. Amaya took the opportunity to get closer to him and inspect the wound. Rip did not try to hide his pain as it was rather obvious and playing pretend wasn't going to fool anyone here.

"I might be able to help him," Amaya eventually said.

Rip sighed in relief. He had no idea which Legends had forgiven him for what happened during Victorian England and which hadn't, but that hardly mattered now. One, he was in terrible pain and that would take up all of your energy and focus. Two, for all he cared they could blame him for everything that went wrong with their lives. He was just glad that they were still willing to help him out despite everything.

Rip was already looking forward to his recovery – the sooner he got better, the sooner he could try to find the Darhks and, subsequently, Mallus. He did keep that thought to himself, though. He figured they were more likely to help if he didn't act like a crazed maniac.

Since he sat down, he had regained some of his energy and felt fit enough to continue to the med bay. Amaya helped him stand on his feet – even if he could walk all the way there, he would not be able to do it without someone making sure he wouldn't complex in the middle of the corridor. Leo stayed close as well, in the case that Rip needed the help. It felt good, having a team surrounding him again. This always beats being all alone.

Before they could leave, a bright white light consumed the room and took the shape of a square. Amaya put Rip back on his seat, squeezing her eyes – their eyes had adjusted to the dark and the light was too bright for them now. The light disappeared as soon as it had happened. Sara recognized the woman who had arrived via time courier: Ava Sharpe.

The Time Bureau official, her blonde hair loose, walked aboard the Waverider. Sara glanced sideways at the former captain. She thought Rip's face would turn even paler upon seeing Ava, but he did not seem surprised nor was he fearful. He seemed indifferent about; the ordeal.

"Agent Sharpe," Sara said, trying to keep a professional attitude. "What brings you here?"

"I, er, came to check up on you," Ava said. "I tried to contact you, but I kept hitting a dead end. I feared something was wrong." She pronounced every word of the last sentence slowly, taking in the darkness around her. The absence of sufficient lighting already confirmed that things weren't as well as they should be.

"You could say that." Oh, where to start? Rip informed them about the Darhks, who could go after a potentially dangerous weapon. Damien and Nora attacked near-simultaneously and left them stranded in the 26th century. On top of that, Nora Darhk had sent Ray to Mallus for some reason, but they would find out one way or another.

Sara did not need to explain herself. The lights already were quite the indication. Also, Ava turned her head and spotted Rip Hunter sitting on one of the chairs. She promptly turned her head to Sara again.

"What is he doing here?"

"We did not break him out, if that's what you're thinking," Sara responded – if Ava had known Rip had escaped by himself, she wouldn't be asking that question. "That's on him. Also, he came to us, not the other way around."

"Why is he here?" Ava asked. There was some hesitation in the middle of the question – as if she was going to insert the word 'still' in the middle.

Rip sighed. There was no doubt that she would want to see him back in the Time Prison again. No matter how close these women had grown in his absence, he still was a fugitive and Sara was now caught harboring him on this ship.

"I asked to stay," he said. Sara shouldn't get the blame for his actions. "I had a lead on Damien Darhk. I came because I knew they'd be interested to follow up on that lead." He placed one hand on the wound. It still hurt like hell, but at least he could talk without groaning in pain every now and then. "If you would like to arrest me, now's your chance. It's not like I can go anywhere in this state."

It was only after Rip had made his pain known that Ava noticed the mystical knife that was stuck there. She did not immediately react, so he figured she wasn't going to arrest him while he was in that state.

"Damien did that while we were trying to stop him," Sara explained, "Nora attacked the Waverider and took Ray to Mallus."

Ava nodded, trying to process all the new information. When she made plans to come over, she never could have guessed how big a mess they've gotten themselves into. Maybe, one day, she could walk aboard the ship without finding out that the Legends were caught in the middle of a mess.

"Do you have their location?" Ava wondered. It was hard keeping track of the father-daughter duo, but she hoped this mission did at least give them some good news. Rip shook his head and opened his mouth to speak. Leo was faster.

"We don't," Citizen Cold said, "They disappeared when they were finished."

Ava did not seem pleased to hear this news, but she wasn't too surprised either. The Darhks have been able to stay under the radar for far too long. They wouldn't just make their location known because their enemies were having a setback.

"Get him to the med bay," Sara eventually said, looking at the former captain. It was about time someone did something about the weapon lodged in his thigh. Besides, Rip himself wouldn't be of much help anymore if that wound wasn't taken care of soon.

Amaya listened. She picked Rip up again and, under the watchful eye of the interdimensional traveler, brought him to the med bay. Even if Sara hadn't said anything, she would have proceeded soon and would've tried to give Rip the best care she could provide.

Sara turned to Ava. "Are you planning on sticking around?"

"Yes," agent Sharpe responded. "It looks like you'll need all the help you can get."

"You're right," Sara said. "Zari is in the engine room, trying to bring Gideon back. Without any help, it may take too long." The sooner the Waverider was airborne again, the sooner they could leave and focus on getting Ray back.

Ava nodded in response. "I'll see what I can do." She lingered a little while longer, staring at Sara, before turning to the door and making her way to the engine room.

Sara smiled to herself. _What a woman!_ One who was willing to help them out, too! Those seemed to be rare these days…

Even though the future did not seem too bright from their perspective, things were going to get better. This wasn't the first time they've hit rock bottom. They were going to fix things. There was only one way they could go and that was up, even if it meant slowly inching closer towards their goal.


	11. Solutions

**That season finale... (*takes a deep breath*) What is there to say? It was big, crazy and silly and though we have to say goodbye to some interesting characters, I can hardly wait for season 4 to arrive. I still can't wrap my head around that ending. I'm gonna stop here, otherwise, I'll ramble on about it.**

 **Atarya QueenOfEgypt: That's just it. He didn't do anything, he's as much a victim here as anyone else. (also, please stop reviewing to get me to message you).**

 **Ladyawesome45321: Oh yeah, Jax! I missed him, too! I'm just glad to have seen him again. Let's hope next season can be as long as the other cw shows. Thanks for reviewing.**

 **Guest: I agree, Rip's definitely manipulative. About not knowing what's happening - this story is not written in a chronological order and it won't be until at least chapter 17. I'm sorry this story is not to your liking, but there are a lot of great (LoT) stories out there for you to enjoy. Thank you for your feedback.**

* * *

Amaya was called to the bridge. She wasn't the only one – those who could make it were asked to come to the bridge. It sounded urgent.

 _It's because of Ray,_ she thought. Why else would Sara call them all back together after such a short amount of time? The captain had still been watching Ray. She must have seen the interaction between him and Amaya. She got him to talk and what he revealed was now up for debate.

Whatever they were going to discuss, whatever solution they were going to come up with, Amaya knew a couple of things for sure. One of those things was that Mallus was not possessing Ray – that may be the scariest one on her mind. It meant Ray did everything consciously. No doubt Mallus had a hand in it, too, no matter what Ray said had happened. Maybe it was already too late to try and piece him back together, but they weren't going to give up on their friend that easily.

By the time she arrived on the bridge, almost all of the Legends were already there. Even Mick had decided to show up, so Leo was present, too. The interdimensional traveler was standing aside – maybe he decided to just listen today and not to take part in the conversation. The resentful look on his face made it clear he did have an opinion or even a possible solution on his mind, though he may not be ready to share it.

Ava and Rip weren't around either. They probably were still trying to fix the ship and getting Gideon back to her full capacity while Zari attended the meeting. Amaya could barely wait for Gideon's complete return – she could heal Nate, give Mick his arm back and treat Rip properly.

When Amaya walked into the bridge, Sara turned her head to her. For a brief moment, she wondered what the captain would say to start the conversation and where this meeting would end.

"So," Sara said, placing her hands on her sides, "He's doing it all out of free will." Amaya nodded to confirm and the others remained silent. They were probably thinking the same thoughts she had when talking to Ray. They had probably seen the footage, too, but had no idea how to process this information. After all, Ray was always the most optimistic Legend and would rather die than to betray his friends.

"What do we do now?" Amaya asked the group. Unlike Leo, she did not know what to do with Ray. Unlike Leo, some had opinions on the situation and wanted to share them with everyone present.

"Simple," Mick said, "We leave him in there. Problem solved."

"Problem not solved," Sara said, turning her head to him. "We need to do something. If we want him back, we're going to have to help him."

"Why should we? He took my arm."

Amaya's gaze was drawn to Mick's stump again. The small layer of ice covering the wound was starting to melt away and at places even revealed the flesh. It was a gory sight to see and Amaya forced herself to look at Mick's face or anywhere else but that stump.

"It's not him," Amaya said, "Not the real him, at least. Mallus must've convinced him to do this."

"But he's not possessed," Zari said. "Then what is it?"

Nobody had a proper answer to that particular question. Everything Ray had done so far seemed to have been done out of free will. He claims Mallus hadn't touched him but something had to have happened to him while he was away, assuming he was telling the truth. Why else would he want to kill his friends?

Memories came to mind. The first time they saw Rip after scattering the Legends through time, he had been brainwashed by the Legion of Doom. The same could have happened to Ray, who now could be unknowingly working for the demon. Then again, why would Mallus create a "slave" who believed that his master was the most dangerous threat to this world? Something was definitely not right about this situation at all.

That made it even harder to come up with a solution. They debated for a long time. An hour passed and they still hadn't reached a compromise. Mick still believed that the best thing was to keep Ray locked up – others wanted to do something but did not know how or were uncertain of how Ray would react to them in this state. Leo remained silent.

"There's got to be a way to help him," Sara muttered, leaning on the console. There had to be a solution that everyone could get behind. If they didn't find one soon, she was just going to implement what she thought was best for their friend.

"What do you think?" Zari asked, turning to face Leo. He did not hesitate to answer.

"Trust me," he said. "You don't want to know what I think." He walked towards the door but stopped about halfway through. "I hope you find a solution." Those were the last words he said before leaving the bridge.

Almost as soon as he was gone, Mick walked off as well, following Leo. The girls called his name and tried to keep him in the conversation, but he wasn't going to stay. One, he was bored out of his mind in there. Second, Leo was hiding something. Whatever it was, it made him act widely different, nearly resembling the Leonard Snart before he became a Legend. It worried him.

"Snart!" Mick yelled once the two of them had reached a hallway that was out of hearing range from the girls on the bridge. "What was that about?"

"So _now_ you care?" Snart said, promptly turning around. Mick stopped and stared at the man. He had spoken like his doppelganger would and even had the same hateful look in his eyes. It took Mick a few seconds to get over this and take some more steps towards Leo.

"If you have something to say, say it." even though he used a voice that could be interpreted as threatening, he could and would never hurt any good version of Leonard Snart. At least, not anymore.

Leo sighed deeply and slouched a little. He still had that vile look in his eyes when he looked up again, though he seemed more sympathetic this time;

"Ray is a good guy," he said, "and even though I don't wish this for him, someone will have to put him down if this situation does not change. And if you can't, I will."

Mick allowed his friend to walk away. He had not been on Earth-X himself, but he's heard the stories. He's seen how the evil Arrow and Supergirl tried to destroy their Earth. He figured that Leo's reaction was connected to the events he's been through at home, connected to the people he's met over there, such as, possibly, Earth-X Ray Palmer.

One day he may be ready to share what he's seen at home. One day, Leo may be able to share his experiences with the team instead of just the ghost of an old friend. When that happens, everyone would be there, listening, and providing comfort if necessary.


	12. Near the breaking point

**LadyAwesome45321: I loved writing that particular part! What can I say, I have a soft spot for Leo. Thanks for reviewing!**

* * *

Mallus had attacked Ray on three other occasions. Each time, it left him drained. Each time, he believed it couldn't get any worse. Yet, it was so easy – too easy – to forget the pain Mallus inflicted. Each time, Ray was left with a bitter taste in his mouth and a shaken belief. Each time Mallus pulled back for reasons unknown, a piece of those overwhelming emotions and thoughts stayed and latched onto Ray. He tried to ignore these feelings, knowing those weren't his own, but they still manifested. On more than one occasion, he caught himself doubting the Legends would come and he had to reassure himself that his friend would really come for him and that he needn't doubt it.

It was already hard to fend off everything and it became even more difficult as time seemed to pass in this realm of sand and near-darkness and emptiness. When Ray tried to hold one negative thought back, another would slip into his mind. Mallus was slowly and carefully breaking down the walls Ray had put up in his mind. Not many of them were left standing. How many times did Mallus have to attack him to completely tear them down? Two times? Just one? It couldn't be that many.

Mallus' latest attack had left him exhausted. Ray was still laying on the ground, recovering from the mental blow the demon had dealt. He barely even noticed the change when it came. He opened his eye at long last and looked up to the sky.

That was when he first saw it. It was as if someone had turned on a light in the distance. This did not happen so often and it sparked enough of Ray's interest for him to lift his head and see what was going on in this rather uneventful world. It was the most beautiful thing he'd seen in a long time: a portal had formed in the distance and it seemed something – or someone – had gone through it.

All of the doubts he previously had disappeared as soon as he caught sight of this portal. They had come at last. They haven't forgotten – they'd come for him!

He crawled to his feet and almost fell over in the process. Without hesitation, he started running towards the portal.

"Hey!" he screamed, waving his arms. "Over here!"

Sprinting on sand wasn't easy but he managed and it slowed him down considerably. No matter how slow he went, it didn't change the fact he'd do anything to get back home. And even though he was getting closer, the portal remained the same size.

Ray quickly caught on to this. Space had never changed – it was only time that moved differently. And that rock near the portal, that did get bigger as Ray approached it. so it was just the portal that changed.

No, it wasn't changing. It was closing again. He wasn't going to make it. Something like that would be near impossible.

 _Near impossible,_ a small voice in the back of his head whispered, a voice he hadn't heard in a long time. Go faster. You'll get there. Ray listened and despite the motivation, it did not feel like he was going any faster.

As he sprinted and came closer, doubt swept in again. The portal was already closing, so it had opened once and brought something or someone here. The implications were there – the Legends had come, looked around and had decided to leave again without him. If they even had come at all. The more he thought about the possibilities, the harder it was to push back and run as fast as he could.

He wasn't going to make it to the portal anyway, so he focused on expelling the doubt and anger surrounding the Legends from his mind. when Ray had come to a standstill, the portal had closed and he was alone again in the near-dark. He'd missed his chance,

Realistically, he couldn't have made it and Ray knew that. He hadn't been too active as of late and he never truly did exercise – running around with the Legends was exercise enough. The past couple of hours (Minutes? Days?) he had also been lying on the ground, trying to keep Mallus out of his head. That has been his priority and it will be until he left this place.

Ray still continued to walk to the place where the portal had been. Its absence now was a stark reminder that he couldn't leave this place. Most likely, he wouldn't get an opportunity to escape, either. And if he could leave, his plan was nothing more than 'wait for friends and run like hell when they arrive'.

But the waiting has started to weigh down on him and now more than ever aware at how lonely he was.

Ray sat down on the rock he had seen from the distance. That was all there was: him, a rock, and an endless sea of sand, all of it cloaked in semi-darkness. And though he was lonely, he never was truly alone. Mallus was the top dog here. Mallus was everywhere. Mallus was always watching. Even now, Ray could feel his eyes on him.

While Mallus was present, his friends were not. they hadn't arrived. He would've added 'yet' to the previous sentence, but he wasn't so certain about it as he used to be. He did not know how long he's been here, but it felt more like an eternity than anything else. His mind lingered on memories of this place, of Mallus' actions. They faded much sooner as time sped up and then came back so suddenly when time slowed down. it was a rollercoaster he could not get off of, a bad feeling that stuck around. This contributed to his weakened mental state and every time the memories came back more clearly, its effect on him only increased.

Ray closed his eyes and rubbed his temples, forcing himself to think about something else, about anything but what the hand made him feel. He let his mind wander to glimpses of the future that Mallus had shown him. Even Jax would supposedly return before Ray did… It couldn't be true. ay clung to the belief that h wasn't around to welcome Jax back because he was somewhere that wasn't Mallus' prison. Yet that belief was now slowly fading away as well, even though he held on tight and did not let go.

He let out a sigh and opened his eyes again. As he looked around, a foreign object half-buried in the sand caught his eye. It was a small box and Ray estimated it couldn't be bigger than a child's lunchbox.

Ray watched it warily. Nothing in this realm was to be trusted, especially some object that just happened to be there. Sure, the box itself could be harmless, but whatever it was holding – if it even was holding something – may turn out not to be. Just the fact that it showed up in Time Itself was reason enough to be suspicious.

Well, whatever it was, Ray thought about it as an anachronism. This one did not just get displaced, it quite literally got lost in Time. It was from the future, Ray deduced, as he had never seen anything like this box before.

Curiosity took the better of him. He got up and picked up the small box. Its weight surprised him – it was a lot heavier than it looked. Ray carried it to the rock and placed it on it before sitting down next to it.

He had been right – this box definitely came from the future, though it had to be the near future. He recognized some main features on the box as well as the type of lock, which needed to be opened with some sort of code, consisting of letters and numbers.

This was one of the few instances he was glad to be trapped in this realm. Hours of trying to crack the code of the lock felt like only minutes to him and before he even could guess how much time had passed, the deed was done. The box opened itself and Ray peeked inside it.

The contents were far from the limited amount of whatever he thought would be in there. Somehow, this box held what could be described as an enormous toolbox inside of it. the future had found a way to make a box bigger on the inside and make the limited space limitless. If the circumstances were different, he'd probably be a lot more enthusiastically.

There were tools inside and his mind already started thinking of what they could be used for. There were items he did not recognize, but of which he could still figure out what they were. One of said items looked like an orb, one so big he could barely hold it with one hand. Maybe it was some sort of futuristic power source.

Ray smiled. Finally, he had found a purpose again. His time had been filled with waiting around and though it was the only thing he could do, he never had been the kind of person to just stay put and do nothing. He could inspect these tools, figure out what they were and make an escape plan based off of his knowledge. This could work. It would obviously take time, but he had all the time in the world. He could leave this realm and return to the Waverider.

Mallus may have been realizing what is going on. He may have just thought it was time to show up again. Either way, his hand made of darkness reached out for Ray and it grabbed his head again.

This time was worse. This time almost all of his walls were broken down and the ones still standing were severely damaged by the previous attacks. Ray has already gotten more doubtful, more desperate and his attempts to keep the whispers and emotions from flooding his brain had become more desperate as well.

 _Not now!_ He mentally yelled. _No! I've come so far! Stop! Please, stop._

To which Mallus replied by tearing down the last walls Ray had built.

Whatever Ray had felt before, it was definitely more intense than before. The emotions had grown worse and the whispers increased in volume. They were there to infect Ray's own thoughts and emotions and this time, all Ray could do was to hold on to the hope he'd had before that too was consumed by negativity.

The second that the hand grabbed him, the torture seemed to last at least three eternities and soon Ray wasn't fighting, but trying to keep his hope intact. When the hand did let go, Ray fell on his knees and then on the ground, the experience rendering him unconscious.

Ray woke up and did not feel very different, though much had changed. For all he cared, Mallus had not done anything to him. For all he cared, Mallus' world just helped him realize what he had known all along and dared not believe. Whatever the demon had done, it did not necessarily attack his belief but warped his mind and perspective. He made Ray believe he'd been here for much longer than he actually was, that was a more bitter person than he was. He had given Ray more motivation to hate his former friends by pouring thoughts of hatred and vengeance in his mind.

Ray believed the Legends had given up. The Legends had forgotten or did not care anymore, so he had to take matters into his own hands. What Mallus showed him through the screen was no longer on his mind either. He wasn't there in the visions, the Legends had discarded him and he would make them pay for that. Time to get out of there and teach them a lesson they wouldn't soon forget.

Somehow, somewhere deep within, a voice begged him not to continue. It felt wrong, this voice said. It wasn't their fault he was stuck, he shouldn't direct all his anger towards them. Ray, unfortunately, did not listen to this voice and soon got to work. It was time to collect the tools from the box and see what he could do with them.

He was going to get what he wanted. Mallus needn't know what exactly he was doing. So long as he found a way out, Ray did not care what was going to happen to him.


	13. One day

**Ladyawesome45321: Yeah, it had to happen someday, and I had a feeling this story couldn't be told chronologically (or that if it were, it wouldn't be nearly as exciting). And boy, am I glad you caught the reference! Thanks for reviewing!**

* * *

It had been one day since Ray had disappeared.

The team hadn't gotten any better. Nate wouldn't stop blaming himself while Amaya tried to ration the food and water as well as figuring out how they could survive on the ship without power. Mick hadn't been sighted for the past twenty-four hours. Ava and Sara tried to figure out when in history the Darhks would strike next. Leo opted to stay with Rip in the med bay. Rip had tried to argue that he should fix the engine room. He actually had been there for a while but only half an hour later, he had to be taken back to the med bay. Since then, Zari had taken over from him.

Ava had helped her. Three hours of her help had done wonders, but Zari had to figure out most of it on her own, with the occasional help from Rip through walkie-talkie. Those were the only devices on board that still worked as they run on batteries. But Rip was resting most of the time, so it was just Zari and the blueprints.

The engine room was a big mess. Nora had displayed great strength and knowledge of her abilities and had done quite a number on the room. Metal casings had been ripped apart as if it had been just paper and a lot of splinters of all kinds of materials were spread all over the room. Nothing had escaped the wrath of Nora Darhk.

Zari had begun by cleaning the room and deciding which parts could be salvaged and which couldn't. Anything that could not be reused went straight to the garbage disposal. Cleaning the room like this already took her two hours. She was left with only a small pile of metal plates large enough to cover smaller holes in the walls and the ground.

Eventually, she figured out which parts of the engine room needed to be repaired first and put herself to the job. Her main priority was getting the power back. She quickly had figured that out, but soon it became apparent that was not going to work until Gideon was back online.

Whoever designed this timeship had to have been a clever person. Without a properly working AI, no time travel or basic necessities. A feature like that definitely came in handy when someone else decided to go running off with it.

 _Focus on Gideon,_ she repeated in her head, ignoring her growling stomach. _Get her back._ How much longer could they survive in this climate? They had to have landed in the Middle-East: the nights were freezing and the days were hot. Combining the swings in temperature with not enough food and water to last everyone two days, it was clear they needed Gideon to survive. The bathroom was a good motivation to keep going – there was only one on board and there only was limited water. She did not want to stay in this situation for too long.

At long last, she was almost finished. Just a couple more wires needed to be replaced and then, hopefully, the lights would turn back on. She was glad that there were a couple of spare wires on the ship, otherwise she wouldn't have been able to do this. _One more wire._ She connected it to the other ones, placed it in the circuit, attaching the ends to the respective holes. Zari took a step back and hoped for the best.

Nothing happened. Zari sighed in frustration. She'd done something wrong. One tiny detail may be off and it wouldn't work. She'd have to start over.

Then she heard a sound she had last heard before Nora attacked. It was the sound of the ship awakening after at least one day of inactivity. A smile came on her face – this sound gave her hope. At least she'd done something right.

The lights turned on again not much later. Zari thanked her god and smiled widely. She'd done it. She brought the power back and hopefully Gideon with it.

She picked up the tools she'd used and put them back in the toolbox. There was no haste now. After she'd done this, she would just go to her sleeping quarters and take a quick break. She had spent all her time in that room and barely remembered Ava coming to help – Zari believed that was when she took a quick nap in the room. she had no idea how many hours ago that was and even though she was wide awake, trying to nap wouldn't hurt, especially when there still was a lot to do.

She had just walked out of the engine room when Gideon spoke to her _. "Miss Tomaz, captain Lance requests your presence on the bridge. Ray has been located."_

Zari's thoughts about taking a nap disappeared when she heard this message. Ray has been located – he was alive. That was the best news anyone could've given her today. Without hesitation, she walked towards the bridge. It was time to get him back.

* * *

When Sara walked into the bridge after checking upon Rip, the Waverider started to make its regular noise again. Sara stopped in her tracks and listened to the sound. After a couple of moments, the lights turned on again as well.

A smile came across her face. Finally, something was going right on the timeship.

"Gideon?" Sara called out, walking towards the now fully operational console in the middle of the bridge. She leaned on it, waiting for an answer she hoped would come.

 _"I'm here, captain,"_ Gideon said after a couple of seconds of silence. Sara sighed in relief. The power was back, Gideon was back – fate had to be smiling on them, though good news usually meant that something bad was just lurking in the shadows. They never could enjoy some good news without a setback of some sort.

"Good to have you back."

 _"It's good to be back,"_ she responded, _"but I'm afraid I'm not fully functioning yet."_

Sara nodded. Zari was great, but no miracle worker. Though she wasn't back at full power, at least she and the power was back. The rest could come later – Gideon could probably already navigate and plot a course out of this place.

A short, high-pitched beep rang through the bridge. Sara frowned – that did not sound good.

"Gideon?"

 _"Someone is trying to make contact,"_ the AI said. She stayed quiet as the audio message from the stranger was played.

"Hello?" It was barely audible, but Sara could just make it out over the static noise. "Any… ere?"

Her eyes widened. She recognized that voice. "Ray?"

For a couple of moments, there was only static. And then: "Sara?"

Sara sighed in relief again and her heart raced. It was him. Ray continued talking rapidly, which wasn't the best way of communication since their connection wasn't the best. Sara could only understand bits and pieces.

"I don… time… Darhks… me… just esc… 're loo… now… hold… Depot… come quick…"

The feed cut off and the message stopped. There was nothing more to it. It wasn't easy to piece together what had happened to him after Nora Darhk captured him, but they could always guess.

Darhks, Depot, come quick. Ray definitely was in trouble.

Questions immediately came to mind. If Ray was at the Depot, why would Nora say that she sent him to Mallus? Or maybe she meant the piece of the entity residing inside of her when she spoke of him. What was going on inside the weapon's facility that allowed Ray to get in touch with his friends without the Darhks noticing?

Sara did not hesitate. "Gideon, tell the Legends to come to the bridge. Tell them Ray's been found."

 _"Right away, captain,"_ Gideon said and Sara walked to the captain's office, to take a seat until her team had arrived in the bridge. The news would be enough to bring them together in one place, even for a short amount of time. She could use the few moments she had for herself to try and think about how to best handle the situation once they were inside the Depot.

Nate was the first to arrive. He came running in after a minute or two, panting lightly as he came to an abrupt halt. He looked at Sara with a hopeful look in his eyes.

"Where is he?" he asked without missing a beat.

"He's at the Depot."

Nate's brow furrowed. "So he was out there?" He pointed to his left, where the Depot should be. "All this time, he was just _there_?" There was a hint of disbelief in his voice. It sounded as if he was accusing her of not sharing this news sooner.

"I just received a message from Ray," she explained. Because Ray wouldn't be staying at the Depot if they weren't involved.

"Then we can't afford to wait," Nate said and he turned around, ready to run through the Depot and search for one of his best friends.

"Nate!" It stopped him just in time. "The Darhks have him."

"So?" Sara recognized that pained look in his eyes. She had seen it before, especially after his grandfather sacrificed himself. Sara knew that Nate blamed himself for Ray's disappearance and now he's found a way to make up for it by finding him as soon as he could.

"We're going in together, as a team," Sara said, emphasizing the last three words. "I'm not allowing you to go in alone."

Nate agreed to this plan, though he probably would rather just get there already. Still, he waited. He stayed in the bridge, pacing up and down, impatiently waiting for the rest of the Legends to come.

 _We're coming, Ray,_ Sara thought. _We're coming._


	14. Split up

**Atarya QueenofEgypt: Gideon is an AI, but I like to think of her as a part of the ship. Though I don't know what you've watched from the Arrowverse, because this show isn't animated, it's live action.**

* * *

After an hour of preparations, the Legends were ready to go to the Depot to find Ray. Sara went to the engine room to fetch one more person before joining the others in the cargo bay.

As expected, Rip and Ava were in this room. Rip was sitting on a chair near the wall, trying to fix a hole in the wall at eye level. He wanted to feel useful and if nobody had brought him to this place, he would've limped there himself. Ava stood a couple of yards away from him and watched him with eagle eyes, her arms crossed. She loosened up when Sara walked in.

"So," Sara said, "you ready to come?"

Ava glanced at Rip before looking at Sara again. "I'm not coming," she said.

Sara rose an eyebrow. Rip stopped tinkering and turned his head to the two women with an expression of disbelief in his eyes.

"Someone's going to have to keep an eye on him," Ava continued.

Rip sighed. "I literally can't go anywhere at this point."

"But you could," Ava replied, looking at him with a stern look in her eyes. Rip rolled his eyes and focused on the task at hand.

"Gideon," Sara then said, "Can you make sure that Rip won't leave the ship?"

Rip did not appreciate Sara dragging Gideon into this. "Did you not hear what I just said?" he asked them, but Gideon talked louder and at the same time.

 _"Sure thing, captain."_ Sara turned her head to Ava and crossed her arms.

"Now do you want to come?" It stayed silent for a while, but Ava sighed eventually.

"Fine," she said, "I'll come." Sara nodded.

"Be careful in there," Rip said. The women gave each other knowing looks and then they left Rip in the engine room.

* * *

Ava and the Legends, all wearing their suits, walked out of the Waverider. The warmth of the day was slowly fading away and the breeze was cool.

Only Leo and Sara had laid eyes on this structural nightmare before. It was a brand new sight for everyone else. Everyone was looking with the same thought in mind: Ray was in there somewhere. They were going to get him, no matter how long it would take them to get through this ugly four-floor building.

They had already discussed who was teaming up with who inside the building. Everything needed to go smoothly in there and they didn't have time to pick teammates once they were inside.

"Alright," Sara said, "let's go." They walked towards the back door and entered the building as one big team. The first few minutes, they walked through the maze of hallways that was the outer circle of the compound. Sara went first into the small corridors, the rest followed her. If it weren't for the markings Rip left on the walls, they would've definitely gotten lost. It did not feel like any time passed as they reached the inner circle of the building and found the wider corridors with fewer turns.

That was where they split up. Three groups went their separate ways and decided would meet up at this particular spot once they were finished. Sara, Ava, and Zari turned to their right. Nate and Amaya went straight ahead. Leo and Mick took a left and soon, they lost sight of the other Legends. They were left on their own inside the Depot.

They spent their time in silence. After a while, Mick picked up on some of the signals Leo was displaying. He held on to the cold gun, his finger on the trigger. He walked carefully and tried to stay as quiet as he could. It was a sharp contrast with Mick's loud footsteps and him carelessly walking around – it may just have been a stroll through the park. Leo seemed jumpy, on the edge, ready to fire at everything in front of him.

"What's your deal?" Mick eventually asked.

"You can never be cautious enough," Leo responded after a while, though staying focused on the task at hand.

"Right."

The arsonist could hardly guess what was going on inside Leo's head. He imagined Leo had gone through the same things as Leonard, but with Nazis thrown in and some key differences. Instead of growing up a thief, he grew up a freedom fighter. Not a captain, but a citizen, selfless and working solely for the greater good of the world he grew up in. Mick became briefly nauseous by just thinking about it.

Even worse about Earth-X, the other Mick was a hero, too! Helping others wasn't something he was unfamiliar with – he was already doing that with the Legends on a near-daily basis. What bothered him most was that his hero alter ego apparently died rushing into a burning building to save as many innocents as he could. Though it was a nice way to go, there was no way that he was going to let flames consume him if he could help it. Also, it would've been a delight to hear people scream loudly as he stood and watched the building burn.

Though it was hard to imagine how Leo had lived on his Earth, it was easy to understand why Leo was acting the way he did. When you came from a place where trust was near impossible to achieve because anyone could stab you in the back at any given moment, you did tend not to place a lot of trust in people you barely knew. Mick once had been in that place, too, before joining the Legends. Knowing the Legends would never stab him in the back had brought him peace.

The mismatched pair turned a corner. There was nothing to see except for a bunch of doors leading someplace or holding the world's most dangerous weapons. Mick grumbled - not finding Haircut and just walking around mad this mission considerably more boring. What was the point if they weren't going to find him? Besides, Ray was quite smart - he could probably figure out how to lead his teammates towards him.

Leo stopped in the middle of the hallway and held up his hand to tell Mick to stop, too. Mick waited and thought that Leo listened and searched for some sound or any little noise at all. After a while, Leo took a more comfortable stand and brought his hand to his ear, lowering the gun.

"So far no luck," Leo said over the comms. The unlikely pair remained silent for a while. Though all seemed well to Mick, there came no immediate reaction. Not much later, Mick turned on his own device as well and listened but heard nothing. There was not even static noise to suggest someone was scrambling their frequency, messing with the comms.

"Captain, do you copy?" Leo asked again, this time talking more carefully, more suspicious of his surrounding, too. Mick knew that something was wrong, but did not think of this a bad sign - bad connection, could always happen. Leo did consider it as a bad omen for what was to come.

"What's wrong?" The arsonist asked. Leo turned his head to Mick.

"Comms aren't working," he said, "Could be the building, though. This was designed to be impenetrable."

"And to keep us from communicating," Mick finished Leo's thought, finally figuring what problems this could cause. Leo nodded in response.

"Exactly," the interdimensional traveler said, "We're on our own out here."

Without much talking, they continued their way through the corridors, wondering when the other teams would figure out they couldn't communicate with each other anymore, wondering when they would find Ray in here.


	15. Wounded

**Ladyawesome45321: They'll find Ray in another chapter. But first, more drama. Thanks for reviewing!**

* * *

He'd walked from the engine room to the bridge and then back to the engine room. While everyone else was on their mission to rescue Ray from the Darhks, he had been fixing Gideon and reinstalling some basic software. At one point, he tried to contact the team to hear how they were doing. They did not answer their comms. Gideon explained it as the Depot being protected from anything technological, including their communication devices.

And so, Rip could only see the damage they suffered during the mission. He was actually glad not to have gone with them himself, but that feeling only lasted for so long. They had run into a hot mess. Ray had turned on them, so he'd heard – that was Mallus' work, of course – and he had injured his friends. Mick and Nate were considerably worse off than the others, and there was no telling what Ray had done to those others.

Rip hadn't stuck around for too long. He had limped back to the engine room. He hissed when he sat down and carefully rubbed the wound. He had managed to keep up the act around Sara and the others, but it was hard to fake being okay for too long. The wound stung terribly and every step he'd taken had been accompanied by a pang of pain. It's been a while since he looked at it, but he was certain it was infected. After leaving the blade in there for half a day, he had removed it and immediately had put pressure on the wound. There was blood, but not as much as he'd expected and the bleeding did stop. Still, no matter how many times he said he was doing fine, no matter the cover-ups, the pain was always worse than he let on.

That was a strong motivation to continue doing his work, despite the constant pain and exhaustion: get Gideon back to full strength so you can rest and heal.

Apart from the pain the wound caused, he was strongly motivated by the pain Ray caused the others. Rip blamed himself for what happened inside the Depot. Though there was a part of him that suggested that he wasn't guilty, he refused to listen to it. Because if he didn't, he had another strong motivation to repair Gideon and her interface as soon as possible. If he believed that it was his fault, that he'd lead the Legends to the Depot and that because of this, the rest of the events unfolded. Ray was an unfortunate and an unwilling victim of Mallus' only because he decided to involve the Legends in his quest for Mallus. Rip brought the Legends into this mess, so the least he could do was to make sure they were going to get out of this alive.

He continued his restless work. The only breaks he'd taken were to greet the Legends, to hear what Ray was doing in his cell and once more to get himself something to drink. Other than that, he'd worked on the machinery non-stop and ignored the pain to the best of his abilities.

He'd already reached the point where he was exhausted and unwilling to work – he'd passed that point, but still managed to go on. He'd already wished a thousand times that someone would help him or take over the job. He'd cursed out loud when the machinery wasn't running as smoothly as he planned. Ava tried to help, but despite her assistance, he wished her to go and help find a way to help Ray Palmer instead. That was the biggest problem: if they didn't figure out why Ray has done the things he's done, recent history might as well repeat itself.

At the moment, Rip's mind was blank. There was only this mantra he repeated over and over and over again: _fix Gideon._ This was the one phrase that kept him awake, that kept him from crashing and collapsing where he stood. It was the only way to make him work on his AI while his body worked on auto-pilot. He hadn't noticed Ava had left him. In this state, there was no way of telling when he was done, what he just had repaired. It was just him, his mantra and the task at hand.

" _Mr. Hunter."_ Rip heard the words, but his brain didn't register them or who had been talking to him.

 _"Mr. Hunter." Gideon._ Rip paused for a moment but soon continued. If he wasn't going to repair Gideon, her interface and everything else in the engine room, nobody was going to do it.

 _"Mr. Hunter, my 'medical abilities' are back online."_ Rip paused again, just a bit longer this time. He allowed his mind to divert from the mantra and questions popped up. Could she heal people again? Had he fully recovered her data? Has it always been this warm in here? he tucked the neck of his shirt to allow what little air to come through it. _"I need you to go to the med bay immediately."_

"I've done it," Rip whispered. The screwdriver he'd been holding slipped through his fingers as he brought his hands up to wipe the sweat from his forehead. Was that from the effort and the hard work or could it be the infection of this thigh?

Gideon said something else, but Rip could not properly hear it. It was as if her voice came from afar. The room grew darker and the floor tilted. Rip closed his eyes right before he hit the ground and he gladly welcomed the darkness that followed.

* * *

Finally, it was time to regrow his arm.

A couple of minutes ago, Gideon had announced that Rip Hunter had collapsed in the engine room and that he had recovered most of her data, including those that could help her heal the Legends. When Mick heard this, he'd strolled to the med bay and somehow made it there before someone else on the ship had dragged Rip in there.

Walking in was just the first step. Nobody ever told him what machine in there was going to help him get his arm back. He looked around for a little while, looking around and trying to picture what the machine that also had given Snart his hand back looked like. He tested every machine in his field of vision and ignored Nate, still laying in that chair.

Eventually, he found something that looked like the machine, standing at the other side of the room. It wasn't easy pulling it to the middle of the med bay and he handled it roughly, but he still managed to do it. Now, it was just a question of finding the damn on-button.

The doors slid open. Amaya walked in with Leo, both carrying Rip into the room. They placed the former captain in the second chair, next to Nate. Mick rolled his eyes. He ignored them and instead focused on getting the damn machine to work.

Amaya came closer and stood next to him while he struggled. "Let me help." Mick allowed it and before he knew it – he didn't pay attention to what exactly she was doing – the machine was fully operational. Mick ducked to put his stump in the right position. A blue light like from a scanner came from it. The light started at his stump and realistically rebuilt his arm for him. It didn't take too long, but it felt like ages.

At this point, Amaya had already turned her attention away from Mick and back to Rip. She helped Leo to hook Rip up to the medical equipment. While Mick admired his arm and the way it seamlessly was attached to the stump, Leo had asked Amaya whether she needed any more help and when she said 'no', he exited the med bay.

Mick figured he could try to have a talk with Leo again. He still had that uncomfortable look in his eyes and since Mick had the feeling that Leo wasn't saying everything he knew, he went after the interdimensional traveler.

Mick followed him to his sleeping quarters. Right in front of his door, Leo turned around and looked at Mick folding his arms and leaning against the wall. As if he wanted to say 'you want conversation, I'll give it to you'.

"How's the arm?" Mick glanced at his brand new arm and made a fist. It did not feel very different.

"Good as new."

"Good to hear." Leo turned and tried to walk into his room, but Mick wasn't satisfied.

"Got something to say?" Leo stopped in his tracks and sighed, lowering his shoulders.

"You asked me the exact same question three hours ago."

"So?" Mick shrugged. "Doesn't matter. I can see it in your eyes. You know something – or you think you do – and you're not sharing."

"Should I? You're not the type to share, either."

"Personal stuff, not things that could get me killed if I didn't share."

Leo stared a little at Mick, weighing his options. He shook his head. "It's none of your business."

"What if it is?" Mick asked, successfully stopping Leo from ignoring him. "What if it has something to do with H… Ray?"

"You're right, it does." Leo was glaring, his body tense. One more push and he could explode in rage. "Happy now?"

"Not quite." Mick folded his arms and continued to stare at Leo. He wanted more information, so he stayed.

Leo realized that, like his old friend, Mick wouldn't take 'no' for an answer. He took a deep breath and knowing he couldn't keep this to himself anymore, he explained what was on his mind.

"Back on my Earth, it's kill or be killed when you don't support the government. I've had a run-in with them on more than one occasion and each time, general Raymond Palmer was involved."

Mick raised his eyebrows. _That was it?_ "Haircut's a Nazi."

"One who's quickly climbing up the ranks," Leo specified, "Ray from this Earth doesn't act exactly like him, but the potential for evil is there. I've seen this behavior before. No matter how friendly he was, if he can't be reasoned with and starts to behave like the general, he needs to be put down. I wouldn't like to do this, but your Earth doesn't deserve such a cruel man."

The two men looked at each other. Mick was satisfied, though there was still one last thought that lingered in his mind.

"One last question. Why did you keep this to yourself?"

"I made myself a promise not to tell you what your Earth-X counterparts are like. It's better they don't know too much. They might not like what they hear."

Mick nodded, as a silent promise not to spread this information intentionally (Leo shouldn't complain if he accidentally mentioned it). They went their separate ways: Leo finally entered his sleeping quarters and Mick went to his own so he could fully admire his brand new arm.


	16. Released

How long could an eternity last?

Longer than you can imagine. It lasts exactly as long as you think it does but then times a thousand. It goes on and on and on without showing any signs of ever stopping. There was no way of knowing whether the same eternity was still playing out or whether a new eternity had already begun.

While the eternity passed, time had paused. Or rather, time was moving, but the hellscape had paused the biological clock of its visitors. Ray had not slept, eaten or shaven since he arrived. He hadn't needed to – he hadn't been hungry or tired and no hair had grown on his chin. He hadn't given it much of a thought lately, for there were more important things to worry about.

Mallus hadn't touched him since the last time, thank goodness. Though it was more of a blessing in disguise – he had no idea when or where the entity would show up again and even whether this demon would try to get into his head again.

During his imprisonment, Ray had been working hard. He'd looked at all the materials that had been given to him through the portals. They weren't technically his, but nobody was going to miss them anyway. He studied the items, figured out what they could be used for and if they were useful, he put them to good use. He had managed to integrate some of the future tech into his suit. He was especially proud of the way he turned an energy source into enhancers for his blasters.

He often tried to measure the added power the enhancers would bring to the blasters. He shot into the air once and the beam wasn't any different. He shot the ground and the small tree that had always been a silent witness in the background. There was a small sandstorm and the tree burned down within seconds. He had yet to test it on a living being with lungs. He could only ever find out how it affected a human body if he ever shot one – say, one of his ex-friends.

He thought about them a lot. He clearly pictured their smiles, teamwork, little personal quirks. It was a useful tool to reinforce his hatred of them. if they really were good and pure (except for Mick) how and why hadn't they found him yet? Why didn't they keep looking? They probably had given up by now.

With all this time that could have passed, he was rather impatient about the situation. He waited around in full Atom suit for portals to open, sprinted towards them when they appeared and cursed when they had closed before he could reach it. In another place and time, he may have wondered or calculated when and where they would open and for how long they would stay open.

To keep his impatience at bay, he'd been running around. It may be pointless in a realm where time literally passed by but the biological clock was halted, but it was a good exercise, even though his muscles burned after what felt like five minutes. It served two purposes. Firstly, it made him feel alive, especially since the deprivation of sleep, hunger and hair growth made him feel like he was a walking corpse or a ghost. Secondly, it was better to get accustomed to running around on sand just in case it could give him the extra edge he needed to finally reach a portal.

A light in the corner of his eye caught his attention. A portal. He did not hesitate and sprinted to the growing light source. Something small, something insignificant fell through the portal – another random item that got displaced in Time. Ray ignored it and focused only on the portal ahead of him. Paying attention to something else could cost him time, which would mean he could miss the portal again. _Not today._ He'd been trapped in there for too long to let this opportunity pass him by.

The portal was closing at a much slower rate than usual, giving him an actual chance to go through it. as if it was daring him to go faster and still miss it. Ray sped up, taking the challenge.

Just a couple of more seconds, and then he was there. Ray eliminated all doubtful thoughts from his mind and thought about nothing but his freedom. I'm going to make it. I'm gonna make it.

Sand flew into his eyes. Ray closed them in a reflex. The next step he took, he tripped over his feet. His body slammed into the hard ground. He groaned, placed a hand on the smooth surface. With his other hand, he wiped the sand from his eyes after taking off the glove. When he could open them again without being irritated, he could properly look around.

His heart did a double take. He blinked a couple of times, rubbed in his eyes, pinched his arm, for he did not believe he actually made it through this time. But his eyes did not deceive him. He was free from Mallus and the hellscape and back on Earth.

One lightbulb hanging over him illuminated the small windowless room in a faint yellow light – a welcome change from the darkness and the blue Ray was subjected to. The floor and the walls were made of concrete, as was a block standing to the side, about 2 feet high and the size of a grown man. This block came with an old ragged pillow that needed to be washed and a nasty smell. In the far corner stood a metal toilet, dispersing an even nastier smell.

The door was taller than he was and had a small glass panel installed at the top. It was impossible to look through from inside this cell, so Ray figured it was meant for the people on the other side. There was no lock visible from his position, but the door was fixed in its place. Pushing and pulling wouldn't work on it.

Ray put good use to his blasters. With one well-aimed shot, he destroyed the place where the lock was supposed to be. Yet, he only scratched the rest of the door. Ray pushed it open and peered out of the crack.

It was a calm, soundless hallway. There was only concrete, a couple of doors like his and then a few regular wooden doors painted in blue. The doors were placed at the same distance from one another. There still were no windows and neon lights on the ceiling provided the lighting.

Ray walked out of his cell and to the closest blue door, which already seemed to have been pried open before. he opened it and stood eye to eye with weapons in all sizes and shapes. He only recognized them as weapons because some of them were gun-shaped, while e also recognized a small ruby pyramid.

The Depot. He had been sent back to the place closest to where he was taken. Not surprising, but seeing the building from the inside did leave him with an impression of how the rest would look like.

The former prisoner returned to his room and closed the door behind him, for as far as that as still possible. There wasn't anyone around, but there was no way of knowing for sure. The portal could have dropped him off at any point in time. The corridor may look deserted, but that didn't mean that it actually was. the next step of his plan required there to be no onlookers and he also would love to have some privacy. It was time to get his ex-teammates involved.

Ray was not going anywhere – it was going to be much easier to let them come to him than to track them through space and time. Once they arrived, they weren't allowed to communicate with each other. They were not allowed to tell each other over the comms that he'd attacked them. It would ruin the surprise.

Ray immediately started to work. He figured there was already a device installed that scrambled electronically sent messages, just in case someone was sent in to steal some weapons. That was good. The hard part would be sending a message to the team.

He eventually managed to get through the scrambler using his own comm. He'd made contact with the Waverider. Still, his struggles were not over. Ray had no idea how much of his message was going to come through. He wondered whether they would receive it at all. He only had to have faith that it would work.

"Hello?" He said, "Is anyone out there?"

He wouldn't try to act out his words. The scrambler was still at work and produced noise, that sometimes would be louder than his words. He needn't sounds distressed or anxious. Even then, he hadn't used his voice in a while and it was still a bit shaky.

"Ray?"

He knew that voice. Never thought he'd ever hated to hear it. "Sara?"

Her response didn't come as soon as he'd thought, which meant there was either a delay or a lot of background noise, but she did respond. Ray would've asked how long it's been for her since Nora dragged him to the hellscape, but didn't. He would know eventually. Knowing precisely how long it's been could put an end to his quest for vengeance, something he didn't want to happen.

"I don't have much time," Ray said, "but the Darhks have taken me. I just escaped them, no doubt they're looking for me right now. They're holding me at the Depot. Please come quickly."

He smashed his comm, ending all communication between him and the Waverider. It all had gone perfectly! He'd given Sara the right motivation to seek him out if she had understood the message he had sent. If not, the message was long enough to be traced back to this time and place. Soon, the Legends would be at the Depot to save him from the Darhks.

It had to have been at least an hour since his escape and that was long enough for the small voice to come back - that voice that questioned his every move and advocated goodness. It told him not to deceive the Legends, to wait for their explanations, to listen once they arrived. It told him he didn't have to do this, that this mindset and revenge plan were a consequence of Mallus messing with his mind.

Ray ignored this soft voice, though in the real world it seemed to have grown louder _. We'll see,_ Ray responded. _Let them come, let them fight, let them talk._ They would have a hard time explaining their absence and indifference towards him when he attacked them and when they were fighting for their lives.

The voice turned silent. Ray considered this a victory and waited in that room for someone to show up. He was ready for their arrival.


	17. Backfire

**I wasn't going to publish this chapter and skip a week... I've been having trouble with a user on this website, who's been nasty to me as well as others and who called me certain names. I don't want her to take me down or win, so here is this chapter. If you want more information, there's a whole section on my profile discussing the problems she's caused me. I won't let my personal experience take away from your reading experience.**

* * *

"Nate, slow down," Amaya said. She and Nate were inside of the Depot, looking for Ray. He was walking a couple of yards ahead of her, going faster than usual. He only slowed down because Amaya asked for it. He turned to her, but didn't stop. Instead, he just continued his way, walking backwards.

"We can't," he said, taking short breaths, "Every second we lose is one Ray loses as well."

Amaya looked sympathetically at him. The guilt was eating him, the blame he put on himself was overwhelming. He had only been able to ease it with the thought that he was going to save Ray. Maybe finding him would rid him of these horrible feelings. Maybe it would calm him.

It had been ten minutes since the group had split up. Or had it? Nate had been too focused on Ray to care about the time and how much of it had already passed. He'd lead the way from the beginning, already starting with a fast pace. His speed had increased until the moment he was close to sprinting. At times like these, he wished Wally or Barry – or any speedster, really, as long as it wasn't Thawne – was around to help them search. How until they would find Ray? How long until the Darhks realized what the Legends were doing?

"We'll find him," Amaya said, speeding up a little as to catch up with him. "Exhausting yourself isn't going to help him."

Nate listened. He slowed down until the two of them were just walking down the corridors together. While his pace decreased, his mind was still sharp and on alert. He took in as many details as he could and looked out for even the tiniest clues that Ray would be here. Amaya held his hand, to keep him close, to keep him from running off again.

All went well and nothing much eventful happened. Nate had hoped to have found Ray by then, but he had no doubt that they would find him. This is something he'd told himself so often he believed it. they would find Ray hiding somewhere between these concrete walls, tucked away in a far-off corner.

The hallway ended. They had the choice to turn either left or right. They lingered only for a little while.

"Alright," Nate said, his hands on his hips. "I'll go right, you go left."

Amaya didn't seem to be on board with that idea. She folded her arms. "What if something happens?" Earlier, she'd tried to communicate with Sara after they had split up, and the message hadn't gone through. Their comms were just not working. If anything happened to them, nobody would be able to call for back-up.

"I'll yell real hard," Nate said and shrugged. "What's the worst that could happen?"

"The Darhks could find us."

"They won't," Nate said. "We'll be out of here before they even realize we were here."

Amaya stayed silent for a while, but eventually sighed and nodded. "Be careful out there." She turned left.

Nate nodded in response and took a right. "You, too." He only kept this calm pace for a minute and soon found himself jogging through the hallways, shouting Ray's name in the hopes of getting a verbal response.

Nate stopped at the beginning of a new corridor. There had been a sound, ever so vague, but someone seemed to be calling out to him from the corridor. He took a step in its direction.

"Ray?" He shouted from the top of his lungs. He then stayed quiet, listening for an answer that may not come.

Silence. Nat shook his head and placed his hands on it. "I'm imagining things," he whispered and tried taking deep breaths.

There it was again, unmistakably a human scream that did not come from Nate imaginative mind. This time, it was real. "Nate!"

It was Ray. It had to be. "Amaya, he's here!" Without hesitation, he sprinted in the direction of the sound, guided by some of Ray's shouts.

Nate had come so close, he wasn't about to slow down or take a careful look around, as he knew he should do. He preferred to sprint through the corridor, stopping at every door in this particular wing of the building that also had metal doors. He tried to open some 'closet' doors and jumped up to look through the glass panel at the top of each metal door.

There was no more shouting. It had been replaced by a banging noise, like someone hammered on a metal door. Nate promptly ignored the rest of the doors and sprinted to the end of the corridor, where the noise was coming from. It was the last metal door of the hallway.

"Hang on Ray," Nate said. "Imma get you out of there." His skin turned to steel and he grabbed the door handle. With one mighty pull, he opened the door. That went easy! He'd expected at least some resistance, but he apparently had pulled so hard he'd damaged the door's lock. But he didn't care in the slightest. A de-steeled Nate stood face to face with Ray again. Though it's only been a day, he truly had missed his friend by his side.

Nate was so overjoyed, he didn't notice something was off. It was the fact that Ray had been allowed to wear his suit while a prisoner, it was the way he stood there uncomfortably, it was the penetrating way he eyed Nate. Yet, Nate didn't notice or didn't want to – Ray was safe, and that was all that mattered.

"C'mon, let's get out of here." Nate extended his hand to the 'prisoner', who nodded.

"Good idea," Ray said in a detached monotone. Before Nate could even comment on the way Ray just had spoken, the scientist shot him.

Nate barely understood what was going on. One moment, he stood on his feet and was talking to his friend. The next, he was sent flying into the air, slammed into the corridor wall and fell to the ground on his side. He didn't have the time to turn to steel. Ray hadn't moved, his face void of any emotion, his arm in front of him as he'd just fired one of his blasters at him.

Nate tried to get up, but his stomach burned and his head was heavy. He groaned and just one thought crossed his mind: _what just happened?_ And then: _am I bleeding out?_ It sure felt like it. He placed a hand on his stomach where Ray had hit him. He imagined it was covered with blood, but when he pulled it back, it was clean. Whatever pain he was feeling, it was hurting on the inside. Because of the intensity of this pain, his mind became muddy.

Ray approached him, glancing at the hand that had dealt the blow. "So that's what it does," he said in a matter-of-factly way.

Tears formed in Nate's eyes as he tried to unsuccessfully lift his head. His breathing was ragged and from this angle, Ray seemed a lot taller and more menacing.

"Why?" Nate asked softly. Damn it, it even hurt to talk. "We're friends."

"Are we, though?" Ray answered as he aimed for Nate again, this time getting a closer shot.

Nate's eyes widened. He desperately shook his head. "Please don't do this." Ray did not listen to him. There came a bright light, emitted by the blaster, and then there was just darkness.

* * *

"Amaya, he's here!" Even though Amaya was far out of hearing range, she had called upon the spirit of an owl, which enabled her to continue her search while also keeping tabs on Nate. That is, until this moment.

Amaya turned around and followed the route Nate had taken. She easily found her way through the hallways as Ray was shouting Nate's name. She was running as well now, though briefly after he became silent, it was hard to find him.

She stopped for a few moments, closed her eyes and focused on the sounds around her. This would put her back on the right track. It would have been easier of the comms worked, but that was not an option at that moment.

 _"_ _C'mon, let's get out of here."_

 _"_ _Good idea."_

There followed a high-pitched sound and someone got slammed into a wall. There were no other sounds of battle to be heard.

 _Nathaniel. The Darhks._ There was no time for hesitation. Nate needed help. She changed the spirit of an owl for the spirit of a cheetah. Then, nothing could stop her anymore. She sprinted at high speeds through the halls. It didn't take her long before she reached the right hallway.

She briefly stopped to take in all the details. There lay Nathaniel, in the middle of the hallway, next to an open door. Whoever had attacked him had left through the end of the hallway, that connected to another one. Amaya ran into his direction and before doing anything else, she approached the room with the open metal door. Nate's assaulter could still be there.

Only when she saw nobody hiding in the room, she checked up on Nate. She took his pulse and sighed in relief when there was one. She took his head in her hands and lifted it up.

"Nathaniel?" He stirred, but it took him a while to open his eyes and become fully conscious again. He squinted his eyes and immediately clutched his stomach, whimpering. He managed to say her name and despite the pain he must've been in, he briefly and weakly smiled at her. This made it look like nothing serious had happened. As if someone had just knocked him out.

He was only grazed. His attacker must have had a blunt weapon, since there were no visible cuts and bruises. She helped him to get up on his feet and supported him, for it would take a while before he'd be back to full strength. Nate obliged, though it seemed he'd rather lay on the ground than stand up.

"Who did this?" Amaya asked him. He was leaning heavily on her and attempted to shrug. It failed - he'd tried to lift his shoulders, but they dropped as soon as any effort was made. Amaya realized he could be weaker than she first thought.

"Ray did." His voice was raspy and soft and despite his current state, he felt the need to try and take a step himself. Right after he put down his foot on the ground, his body went limp.

"Nathaniel!" Amaya carried all of his weight. Slowly, she placed him back on the floor. She looked at him again, scanning for any injuries she might have missed before. But there were none. He was clean, so the injuries had to be on the inside.

She didn't want to believe Ray did this, though it would explain a lot. Ray's blasters sometimes left this tired effect on people and has knocked out countless enemies with them. If he wasn't the culprit, he would've stayed and tried to take care of Nate instead of pursuing a possible attacker. But it wasn't the Darhks, either - they know the Legends don't come in alone and they would've waited for Amaya and strike her the same way they struck Nate. They wouldn't run off. Ray, knowing Amaya would most likely be teaming up with Nate, made a run for it and left Nate behind. He'd know she would stay and try to get Nate out of danger.

Questions concerning Ray came to mind, but she pushed them back. They first needed to get out of the Depot as soon as possible. Provided Ray hadn't lied to Sara, Damien and Nora were still around. On top of that, Ray was also roaming these halls and possibly looking for another victim. Who knows what that man was capable of and what drives him to attack his friends.

Amaya touched her totem and called upon the spirit of a gorilla. She carefully picked up Nate and walked back down the hallway, back to where they came from. It might not be easy to find the exit or the rendezvous point, but she would get there eventually. She'd get there and get out of the Depot early if necessary, if Nate needed the help. She'd take him to the med bay so that Gideon could help him.

And then, she could always go back inside the building to track down Ray.


	18. Dismembered

**Okay, guys, this is the standout chapter that really gives this story its T rating. You might be able to guess what'll happen based on the chapter title and previous knowledge. It won't be too graphic, but if this is something you can't stand/can't handle/prefer not to read/just don't like, there's no shame in skipping this chapter.**

 **Ladyawesome45321: Yes, it's coming closer to where it started. Thanks for the review and for your kind words. That's exactly what I needed to hear.**

 **NerdInABlueBox: Oh, I know it's hard to write them all and give them all an equal amount of attention. I especially struggle writing Zari and Mick. And, well, Rip was the captain during S1 and he was rather important. There'll never be a character I don't write with respect. Thank you for your review!**

* * *

Everything went fine without Leo breathing down his neck.

Leo and Mick had come across an intersection of corridors and instead of both going into one of them, they had decided to each explore one before continuing ahead. The idea was to cover more ground as not to lose too much time. Leo went left while Mick turned right.

Mick didn't listen to the agreement. He had wandered further than they agreed on and now, he roamed the hallways alone. He didn't even stop to check out the doors he passed on his way. He was certain he wouldn't be able to find his way back, but was confident that he could always accidentally get back to the rendezvous point. Until then, there was more me-time for Mick.

While being a good friend, Leo was just a bad copy of Leonard. It was him, but then again, it wasn't. He was crazy in his own way, paranoid and on high alert. It was nice to still have Leo around, though Mick wouldn't openly admit it, as long as he didn't stick around for too long. He still needed to go back to his own Earth. _He's probably looking for me right now._ Paranoid as he was, he must have realized by then that Mick wasn't going to walk all the way back to him.

Something – or someone – was fast approaching. At the other side on the corridor, about fifteen yards away from hm, another hallway branched out into this one. Hastened footsteps were rapidly coming closer from that hallway.

Mick noted another difference between him and Leo. While they would both shoot whoever turned the corner, the interdimensional traveler would pick a comfortable position and would have his gun at the ready. Mick merely put his finger on the trigger while he slowly walked closer to the sound, as to bring the enemy within fire range.

Around the corner came a familiar face. The red metal suit came to ha halt when he spotted Mick. The arsonist didn't remove the finger from the trigger. From this distance, at least ten yards, and with his helmet on, it was hard to properly see and read his face.

"Mick." That was definitely Ray's voice. He let out a short breath he approached the arsonist. "I'm so glad I found you. I… you came looking for me!"

Ray was standing close to Mick now, too close for Mick's liking, and Ray hadn't taken the helmet off yet. It was easier to see his face now, especially the wide smile.

 _Not Ray._ Or, at least, he wasn't acting him like himself. That smile was not genuine – Mick had seen it more than enough to know Ray was faking it – and the happiness he'd tried to convey through his voice was feigned. The story he told had to be bullshit, then, since there was no way that the Darhks would allow him to wear that suit.

Mick took a step back and eyed Ray suspiciously. "I wanted to stay on the ship."

Ray dropped the smile. "Oh…" He shrugged and looked around. His gaze fell upon the blue wooden door that stood a couple of feet to Mick's left. He stared at it for a couple of seconds before turning his head to Mick again, quickly glancing at the heat gun. "Well, let's at least make it worth your while."

Ray walked to the door and brought his face closer to the little box to its side. It hung against the wall at the height of the door handle. This was one of the few doors that was protected by a digital number combination lock. Ray pried open the box to take a closer look at the wiring.

Mick raised and eyebrow. "What are you doing?"

Ray didn't take his eyes off of the wires. "Isn't that obvious?"

"Right…" _Definitely not Ray._ The usual cheerfulness in his voice was missing and the ease to which he tried to dissuade Mick by breaking into one of the weapons vault… yeah, something happened to him, but what? What was his plan, his end goal? The story about the Darhks was fake, so why did he want to lure everyone in here? There had to be a reason.

"There you go!" Mick had been so caught up in his thoughts that he only realized he let them wander off when Ray spoke to him again. With one quick glance, Mick knew enough. Ray stood next to the opened closet door, arms folded and another fake smile on his face. The weapons from this particular vault lay ostentatiously on display and Ray did not stop watching Mick, waiting for any response. Whatever Ray was planning, it included Mick looking into the vault and being bribed.

"What are you looking at?" Ray's smile cracked. If there ever was a moment Ray realized Mick caught on to him, it was right then. He quickly glanced at the heat gun again.

"So, you're not gonna take anything?" Mick didn't move an inch and kept on staring intensely at Ray, gauging him and his possible future reactions.

Ray merely shrugged. "Your loss." He turned his body to the opened vault and reached inside it with his left hand.

Mick reacted on instinct. He lifted the heat gun and took a step closer. Point blank, Ray would burn in his suit. He didn't pull the trigger. Something held him back. Maybe he did care about the scientist. Maybe he didn't want to hurt someone he's been working with for over two years.

Ray acted quickly. One swift, calculated move was all it took. He turned his body clockwise, turning about 180 degrees. One step, one swing, only one moment to change this scenario's outcome.

With a thud and a klang, the arm and heat gun hit the ground. For a solid second, Mick had no idea what had happened. Then, the bleeding and the screaming began.

A bystander would claim it was impossible to definitely say that this was a human sound. It was such an atrocious noise that it would scare little children. It lasted so long it couldn't even be produced by any living creature.

Mick fell to his knees. He grabbed the stump. No, bad idea. He held his left hand close to the wound, afraid to touch it but still wanting to hold it. All the while, he could not stop screaming.

Ray dropped the bloody sickle he had taken from the vault. Running around with it would incriminate him when he reached his next victim. If Mick hadn't pointed that gun at him, Ray wouldn't have had to do this to him. He was planning to incapacitate Mick the same way he did Nate, but that plan had failed. Maybe better luck next time.

Ray walked away from Mick, his face stoic again. Someone could soon show up at the crime scene and could see him. how else would it be possible for Ray to surprise the rest of his former team mates?

Ray took a left into the corridor Mick had used to get there and almost bumped into Leo. There he stood, his cold gun drawn and ready for use. There was no way for Ray to play innocent here – Leo must have heard them talk, he can still hear Mick's otherworldly screams. Yet, Leo was a compassionate person, so maybe Ray would succeed in appealing to his humanity.

"I cut off his arm," Ray said, using an indifferent tone in his voice, "He's bleeding out as we speak. Each second you're trying to take me down is one more second he's closer to death."

Leo didn't listen to his words – the tone was more than enough to go on – and he pulled the trigger.

Ray jumped to the side. With one step, he closed the distance between him and Leo. The cold ray followed him, missing him by just milliseconds. He shoved Leo into the wall, grabbed his head and then smashes that once more into the wall before making a run of it.

Leo became disoriented. He let go of the trigger and the cold stream disappeared. All that was left, was a trail on the floor and the walls. Ray was already gone when Leo regained his senses and wasn't dizzy anymore.

There was no possibility of tracking Ray down now – he'd disappeared into another corridor. Leo wasn't planning to follow him in the first place. Instead, he got up and ran to Mick's aide.

It had gotten worse. Mick still sat on his knees, his left arm hanging to his side. On his other side, there was a pool of blood, which still dripped from Mick's stump. The cut-off arm and the heat gun lay but a feet away. Mick's face started to grow pale and his screams lost their strength and volume.

Leo acted on impulse. He walked around Mick and took the heat gun in his hands, temporarily putting down his own cold gun. It felt strange in his hands, but that wasn't important. He stood behind Mick, aiming for the stump.

No, not from this angle. He could accidentally burn Mick.

"Stretch your… stump, Mick." Mick didn't immediately react. He turned his head and saw Leo and his own gun.

"What the hell!?"

"You're gonna have to trust me," Leo said as calmly as he could. "Now, this might sting a little."

Eventually, Mick did listen, though he didn't exactly trust him. He extended his stump as far as he could without hurting himself even more.

Leo took a deep breath. He was taking a big risk. Leaving the wound unattended would be taking a bigger risk. Mick would bleed out, the wound would get infected. Cauterizing it would greatly reduce that risk. But he's never handled the heat gun and something could still go wrong. If the fire stream came too close to the body, he could severely burn Mick. Earth-X Mick already burned and Leo wouldn't wish it on any other Mick.

Leo aimed carefully at the stump. The gun shook slightly in Leo's unsteady hand. Leo pushed his worries to the back of his mind and pulled the trigger.


	19. A bigger threat

**Rookblonkorules: You take your time, it's not going anywhere. I hope you'll like where it's going. Thanks for the review!**

 **Ladyawesome45321: Yeah, I figured if anyone would realize Ray acts differently, it's Mick. The others would see right past it since they'd be glad they found Ray. Thanks for reviewing!**

* * *

Rip woke up in the sterile environment of the med bay. Everything seemed too bright. He lifted his head and looked around while ignoring the dizziness he was experiencing. The room was empty - even Nate had left already, which meant he was back to full health.

He glanced at his wounded thigh. It didn't hurt as much as before, but it still stung a little. Rip pulled up the pants' left leg to take a look at it. It was still visible, but it wasn't infected anymore. At least, it didn't look that way. He pulled down the cloth leg again.

The doors slid open and Ava walked in. Rip tried to sit up straight, in the hopes of convincing her he was fine. Even though he did not necessarily want to see her, he had no choice now.

"Agent Sharpe," he said, a polite smile on his face. "What a pleasant surprise."

She furrowed her brow, folded her arms and glared at him. Rip has seen that expression more than a thousand times before. He managed to keep a straight face.

"You didn't have to do that."

"Fixing Gideon? Nobody else was doing it."

Ava let out a deep breath. "That's not what I meant. You act like you're carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders."

"Am I, now?" Rip leaned closer to her. "I'm the last of the Time Masters. Mallus came into existence because _my_ team broke time trying to save it. _I_ recruited them and what they do, that's on me. You wouldn't begin to understand how that feels."

Everything was his fault, anyway. He assembled the Legends to fix his own mess. He was willing to bring together the pieces of the Spear of Destiny and hand it to the Legion of Doom on a silver platter. And then Mallus… He now realized that accepting his family's deaths would have prevented this all. He's never been one to easily let go.

"You're right," Ava responded after a moment of silence, her glare gone, "I don't. But I can understand what I can see."

"What do you see, then?" Rip leaned into the chair again and got into a more comfortable position. Ava restrained herself from actually answering that question.

"You have to stop being the lone wolf. You take the blame and think you can solve everything on your own and while you are helping, you're also hurting yourself."

"That's not true-"

"Look at yourself! You pushed past your limits and passed out from exhaustion. This isn't the first time, Rip, and it won't be the last. Those self-destructive tendencies are going to be the end of you."

Rip did not want to respond to that comment and so kept his mouth shut. Ava didn't come here just to berate him. She had come for another reason, and he could already guess why.

"I assume you didn't come just to lecture me."

Ava nodded once, still not taking her eyes off of him. She stood there like a guard, to keep Rip in his place. The polite smile that had been on Rip's face disappeared when he put two and two together.

"You're treating me like a prisoner."

"You still are. When the situation here is sorted out, you're going back to the Time Prison. Until then, you're staying here."

She turned his back to him and walked to the door. She'd undoubtedly be staying in his vicinity, to make sure he wouldn't run.

"I'm not apologizing," Rip said. She stopped in her tracks but did not turn her head. "Yes, I'm sorry those men had to die, but Mallus… We've barely scratched the surface here. And knowing what Ray's done, it's just a matter of time before he gets out and kills us all in his name, unless we prepare for it." The silence was Ava's cue and she left the med bay.

Rip placed a hand on his face and sighed. The door was there, closed but not locked, ready for him to walk out, possibly with Ava guarding it. Maybe he'd have to persuade Gideon to help him get off the ship. No way he was going to stay and allow himself to be imprisoned again.

Just not now. Despite the forced power nap, he still was exhausted. He could get out after he regained some of his strength. Even though he truly wanted to help Ray, he knew that Mallus was the bigger threat of the two, and that was what they should focus on: stopping Mallus' return. Even if that meant taking out Nora Darhk herself.

But first, he was going to sleep.

* * *

They wouldn't allow Nate to go to the brig and confront Ray on his own. They did allow him to watch the security footage. He leaned on the desk as the footage played in the captain's office. Ray did not do much: he mostly sat on his small bench and every so often, he got up to walk around, stood for a moment or two with his back to the camera and then walked back to his seat.

It wasn't eventful. It wasn't spectacular, but at that point in time, this was something could watch for hours.

Ray didn't behave like himself, Nate saw that clearly now. He's felt the pain and heard the stories. Still, he didn't believe it was all Ray. This behavior was a trick Mallus had pulled - whatever thoughts were clouding his mind, it was Mallus' doing.

While it wasn't Ray, it also was. Nate had watched interrogation attempts. He heard Ray talk to Amaya. That was him talking, not Mallus.

Nate rubbed his temple. Why couldn't they, just for once, have a nice day? Could one day pass without anyone getting themselves into trouble? Was that somehow too much to ask?

"Nathaniel…" She placed her hand on his shoulder. It was but a brief moment.

"I'm fine." He turned to face Amaya and Sara, who was standing there, too. As far as Nate was concerned, they volunteered to tell him what had happened to his best friend. The other Legends were probably still gathering their strength.

Maybe Sara had hoped he wouldn't take up their offer of watching Ray. Despite his weak state, he wanted to see it. He needed to see it. He was grateful that they wanted to do this, though he knew they would want him to stay in bed.

"Please tell me you've found a way to save him."

"Yeah," Sara began, "about that…"

Nate didn't want to hear more. He did not raise his voice. "You haven't got anything."

"It's not easy to find a solution," Amaya said, "we've tried, but we don't know what we can do to help him."

"If there was a way, we'd try it," Sara added, "but we don't know enough. For all we know, we could push him over the edge and lose him forever."

Nate nodded in response. It was more a confirmation that he had heard them than a definite reaction. He appreciated their efforts, but the lack of results irked him nonetheless. Especially since his lacking performance against Nora Darhk was a direct cause of the position Ray was currently in.

"Can I…" He took a deep breath. "Can I have a moment, please?"

Nate turned his back to the girls and watched the live footage. For a while, there was no sound. Then, he heard their footsteps as they left him alone, the sounds fading away after a while. In the meantime, Ray stood up once more and walked around. This time, he showed difficulty standing up, going about slowly, as if he was in pain.

Nate frowned. Ray wasn't in pain before. Immediately, the historian tried to find a reason behind this sudden pain.

He found none. There was none. _What are you doing, Ray?_

Nate let his mind wander. He thought about Mallus and his influence. For all he knew, Mallus could be a demon or a Greek god. Either way, if he had any powers, Nate had no idea how they worked, but that was what could have swayed Ray to his side.

If Nate had to choose, he would pick Ray over Mallus as the bigger threat. For now, he was still physically trapped in this realm. Only Nora, with _his_ powers, could do them harm. But Ray was here, on the ship, and who knows what would happen if he got out. Besides, if they couldn't fix Ray and Mallus swayed more people, they would have a bigger problem on their hands.

"That's enough for today, Gideon." The video shut off and Nate rubbed his eyes. He would find a way, he told himself. He'd help Ray. But for now, it would be best to do what his friends wanted him to do and rest for a while.


	20. With the ladies

**Yay, we reached the twenty-chapter mark! This also means we're nearing the end. Just 'cause I'm curious, I'm going to ask a couple of questions, one per chapter. You can ignore it or leave the answer in the reviews. So, here's the first one:** **Is there something that disappointed you during season 3?** **For me, it's that they never fully explored the concept of why the anachronisms happened near their past selves/relatives. It could've been awesome if they carried that throughout the season as a running gag.**

 **Ladyawesome45321: We'll see about that! All I can say is that something's gonna happen, and it's gonna happen soon (at least, in two weeks, I guess). Thanks for reviewing!**

* * *

Ray continued to run from Leo. He'd been running for quite some time now. He slowed down until he was just jogging down the hallways. Instead of running from someone, he now was moving towards a potential target. His mind calmed, knowing Leo wouldn't leave his friend behind and so wouldn't follow Ray. Leo attacking him had not been completely unanticipated, but Ray should have been prepared for it. He should have seen it coming.

This attack made Ray realize that so far, he had been lucky. Of course the Legends weren't going to explore the Depot on their own, not when there was no way of communicating or keeping tabs on each other. They probably entered the building in pairs, of which at least must have split up, and of which he ran into one. Nate's partner was nowhere in sight and Leo only barely arrived on time. Ray realized he could run out of this luck with every next turn.

The silence surrounding him was deafening and his focus shifted from his plan to the people he wanted to harm. His mind had been troubled ever since he returned, most notably with the small voice that insisted he shouldn't do this. Its very existence was enough to plant seeds of doubt within Ray's mind. Ray had already attempted to find them and to nip them in the bud so he could mercilessly continue his plan. Some were easy to find while others were well-hidden. If one of them ever started to grow, Ray would immediately weed them out. There was no space for doubt in his mind.

He had little time to think about it. In the distance, he heard voices. They were not talking loudly and Ray couldn't understand what they were saying, but he picked up on it nonetheless. Female voices, if he wasn't mistaken. Those had to be the Legends whom he had not yet encountered in the corridors.

There were two, maybe more, if he guessed correctly. Let's say there's three of them. The odds would be three to one. Three women, one of which was probably his captain, Sara Lance. He was already outnumbered, so engaging in a fight would be disadvantageous. He'd have to play innocent for a while. It would be a matter of finding the right timing to strike them, preferably before they found either Nate or Mick.

He was already in the hallway when three ladies turned a corner. As he had predicted, Sara was one of them. Accompanying her were Zari and, surprisingly, agent Ava Sharpe. Hearing their voices, Ray had expected Amaya to be with them and had thought Nate had entered the building by himself. Amaya wasn't here, so she had to be trying to catch up to Nate, if she hadn't already. He did not worry - if she did find him, Nate wouldn't be able to tell her Ray had attacked him.

The women stopped in their tracks and shared some confused looks. Ray took off his helmet and brought a small smile to his lips. He let out a sigh.

"I'm so glad to see you guys." He tried to convey as much relief as he possibly could and walked straight towards them. He hoped they had too many questions to think beyond what was presented to them. At least they would never suspect he'd have ulterior motives.

"Ray?" Zari asked, incredulous about his sudden appearance. "How did you-"

"Escape? Hell if I know. Either someone left my door open or someone else opened it for me. Don't know why, though." He paused, glanced at every one of them before continuing with an even wider smile. "I'm so glad the message got through, that was not easy! I had to…"

"Ray." It was Sara who had silenced him. He decided to hear her out and looked at her. She folded her arms. "Are you okay?"

Ray nodded once. "I'm fine." These words may have made his smile seem less genuine. Sara looked at him with concern. From that moment onwards, he knew it was impossible to fool them, especially Sara. They had boarded the Waverider together and worked together for over two years. They had seen each other through the good and the bad.

He needed to change his strategy. He instantly dropped the smile and glanced at the ground before looking up at the women again.

"Alright, I'm not fine. Not even close." Now the truth was spoken, it was hard not to let his newfound hatred for the Legends seep through in his words. "I will be once I get out of this wretched place."

"What did they do to you?" Ava asked. Ray let in the memories of the isolation and the mental torture Mallus had put him through to convince them of his innocence and actively sought out what exactly it had felt like. What resurfaced was not pleasant.

"Damien and Nora…" he shook his head. "I'd rather not talk about it."

Zari smiled sympathetically. "You don't have to say anything if you don't want to."

Ray nodded and a similar smile appeared on his face. "Thanks."

"Alright," Sara said, "Let's go find the others and get out of here." Zari and Ava wholeheartedly agreed. Ray had no choice but to go along with their plan.

The group, now consisting of four members instead of three, moved through the hallways. They kept a reasonable pace. Ava and Sara walked at the front, Zari behind them and then followed by Ray. They did not turn their heads to check up on Ray, since his heavy footsteps were enough to know whether he was still there.

As they tried to find their way in this labyrinth, Ray thought of all possible ways to take them out. He went over every scenario in his head. He thought about the many ways that all these scenarios could go wrong. He went over the tiniest details and tried to find the way that would damage them the most. It was impossible to take on all three of them, so he needed to plan this carefully.

He'd wished Ava wasn't present. Ray had no quarrel with her or the Time Bureau. In the perfect scenario, she wasn't even involved. But she was here now, and attacking Zari or Sara would mean Ava would retaliate.

Eventually, he'd come up with a plan he was satisfied with. It wasn't perfect, but it was something. And if something did go wrong, well, there was always plan B.

He stopped and carefully aimed for Sara's back. Zari walked in the way, so Ray stepped aside, getting a clearer shot at Sara. Just a little longer…

Zari stopped, turned her head. "Ray?" Confusion and shock were heard in her voice. _Shit._

Ray immediately changed his target and shot Zari in the chest. She wasn't standing as close as Nate had been, but the impact was just as strong. She fell backward but didn't hit any walls. Her warning cry alerted Sara and Ava alike. Sara caught Zari, Ava focused on the threat and took a fighting stance.

They were but five yards away from one another. Ray had a clear shot at Ava. He could easily hit her with another blast, but he waited. He wanted to see what Ava was going to do. This hesitation took one second too long and Ava attacked him.

He never stood a chance against her. Ava grabbed the arm with which he was going to shoot her and she pushed it away from her. The blast hit the wall. It created a crater and a thousand pieces flew through the air. Sara protected Zari from the flying debris. Ray flinched. Ava took her chance and punched him in the face.

Ray dropped his helmet. It hit the ground with a loud clang as the shock of the punched forced Ray on his knees. He bowed his head and placed a hand on his painful nose. Was it broken, or only bruised? He couldn't tell. A few drops of blood trickled down his nostrils.

Ray looked up again. He caught a glimpse of Ava's fist coming closer once again and then, there was just darkness. He did not remember hitting the ground.


	21. Retreat

**Hey, guys! Another chapter, another question!** **What is your favorite ship for this show? Personally, I'm not that big a shipper. If I had to pick one, it'd probably be CaptainCanary or Nate/Amaya.**

 **Ladyawesome45321: Yeah, just five more chapters after this one and then it's done. (but I'm not going anywhere! I've got there more story ideas for this show) And now that you mention it, the writers could indeed have performed better and created a better thought-out storyline. I swear, if they hadn't introduced Nora, I'm certain Zari and Ray would've ended up together. This may be the silliest Arrowverse show, but the writers shouldn't treat it as such.**

* * *

Sara stared at Ray as she held Zari. He lay on his stomach, unconscious and unmoving. His helmet was a couple of inches away from him, lying to his side. Ava still had her hand in a fist and warily looked at him.

The last few seconds passed by so quickly. It all still felt so unreal, but it really did happen. Sara could barely believe Ray had shot them, that he had attacked them.

Sara wished her mind would run wild with theories and reasons that would give an explanation for Ray's behavior. It stayed silent and only one question was on her mind: why? Why did Ray do this, why did this happen? And, most importantly, what did Damien and Nora do to him?

Ava relaxed her hands and turned to Sara and Zari. "Are you okay?"

"I've felt better," Zari responded. She was still dazed and so far she managed to stand, but her face was pale and it seemed she could faint any moment.

"Sara?" She looked up and glanced at Ava, nodding once. What could she say that didn't contradict how she was feeling? She turned her eyes to him. Ava followed her example and watched Ray again.

"I know Damien Darhk," Sara eventually said, not taking her eyes off of him. "I know what he's capable of. He couldn't force anyone to do his bidding with only his powers."

"Does he have access to anything that could?" Zari asked.

Sara shook her head, closing her eyes. She racked her brain and thought of everything Oliver had told her about the damage Damien had done to Star City. She tried to remember all she knew about him and his methods. She opened her eyes.

"Not that I know of," she answered, keeping the following question in mind: would Damien do this? While being a member of the Legion of Doom, he turned Rip to their side. In 2014, he made his minions susceptible to his suggestions with little pills. But was he going to travel back in time to get one of those and force Ray to consume it? Even then, what was Damien's goal? He would never go through all this trouble just to spread chaos and possibly discord among the Legends.

"Let's get out of here," Sara said. There was no reason to stay any longer than needed. Now that they had found Ray and Zari was hurt, it was in their best interest that they leave the Depot. Sara turned to Ava.

"Have you tried contacting the other teams again?"

Ava nodded once. "I've tried, but it doesn't work. We can only hope they'll come to the rendezvous point as soon as possible."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Zari chimed in. She stood tall and strengthened her stance, to make it look like she stably stood there. Ava and Sara shared worried looks.

"Are you sure you can do this?" Sara asked. Zari nodded.

"Yeah, I'll manage." Sara and Ava glanced at each other one more time, both trusting Zari's words. She supported herself by leaning on Sara, but other than that, she was still rather mobile. While Sara made sure Zari could keep up with them, Ava had to carry Ray with them. She grabbed his arms and pulled him behind her, reassuring Sara that she could do this. It wasn't the most ideal situation, but it was something. They left the hallway and traced their way back to the rendezvous point.

At some moment, Zari asked Sara to let go of her. Sara stayed close, but Zari managed to walk without having to fall back on her. Still, she was wary and did not leave Zari's side, just in case. It was not the kind of help she needed, anyway. Zari's face regained some color and she felt good enough to continue, but the pain, however minor, still weighed down on her. With Ray in their custody, they should worry about him, not about her. She could crash down in her room once they were back on the Waverider.

By some miracle, they found the rendezvous point. It was that long corridor that served as the separation line between the outer maze and the inner labyrinth of the Depot. Zari wondered whether or not the people once employed here ever knew where they were going. They had just seen a fraction, just a small piece of the bottom floor. How people could ever work here, Zari could not say. Whatever the case, it had to be a hard job.

They turned the corner into the corridor together and there awaited an unexpected sight. Amaya turned her head to them, already waiting in the hallway for the past few minutes. In her arms, she carried Nate. He could be unconscious, but it was hard to tell from afar. Zari immediately approached her.

"What happened?"

"Ray did this, according to Nate," Amaya replied.

Zari took a deep breath and nodded. She looked at another one of Ray's victims. Nate's eyes were closed, his breath even, lying limply in Amaya's arms. Zari considered Amaya lucky because she clearly hadn't been around when Ray attacked Nate. For all they knew, he could've put them both in that state, and then who would've gone after them, and then how long would it have taken to find them?

"He wasn't wrong," Zari said, turning her head to Ray, now having been dropped on the ground. Amaya followed her gaze. The look in Amaya's eyes hardened. Instead of showing her anger, she shook her head in sadness.

"So it really was him…"

"Yep," Zari said. That was all she said. What more could she say in this situation?

Sara came closer to Amaya and Nate, while Ava stood guard near Ray just in case he'd wake up. When Sara saw Nate, she grew increasingly worried and angered. How many more Legends were hurt? And for what cause?

They waited in silence, hoping Mick and Leo would arrive soon. Time passed, but it was hard to tell how much. Amaya had placed Nate on the ground. Ray had stirred once, prompting Ava to knock him out again. Zari sat on the ground, leaning against the wall. Sara was pacing up and down the hallway.

They couldn't wait much longer. They had to go back to the Waverider at some point. Amaya grew uneasy, for since she desperately wanted to help Nate. He was losing time with every second they waited for the duo to arrive.

"Okay, that's it." Zari stood up and looked at Sara. She'd grown exhausted but managed to keep up appearances. "How about some of us already go back while someone waits for Mick and Leo?"

Sara had thought about that solution as well and she was glad Zari brought it up. As the captain, she wouldn't want to look like she abandoned a part of her team. As the captain, she'd stay while the others would return to the Waverider.

"Alright," Sara said, nodding. "I'll-"

"Take your hands off of me!" A deep voice roared in the distance.

Sara shut up and exchanged knowing glances with the women. That was Mick. Finally, he and Leo were coming.

"It's about time," Zari muttered under her breath, folding her arms. Sara couldn't agree more.

There they came. Sara could see them nearing from afar. However, something seemed off about the picture, and she noticed it after a while. Mick carried his gun in his left hand instead of his right. That, as well as Mick's exclamation from earlier, was reason enough to believe something was wrong.

The duo approached the women and unconscious men, and it became clear what had happened. Zari's eyes widened, Amaya covered her mouth with her hands. Ava and Sara didn't show their shock as much, but they too had not thought to ever see Mick walking around without his right arm. Where it had been cut off, there was a thin layer of ice, possibly protecting the wound from any infections.

Before the duo had a chance to explain what happened, Mick's eyes caught a glimpse of the unconscious Ray. Leo saw him, too. Mick tried to run towards him, Leo acted immediately and held him back, wrapping his arms around the amputee.

"Calm down," Sara said. She stood in front of him as he yelled.

"He cut off my arm," Mick snarled, "Imma kill that bastard!"

"Killing him won't change anything." Sara folded her arms. It took them a while, but eventually Mick was calm enough to let him go. That didn't mean he stopped grumbling or eyeing Ray.

"Let's go back to the ship," Sara said and everyone unanimously agreed. Leo walked over to Ray to pick him up and Zari came over to do the same.

"Zari…" Sara began, but couldn't finish.

"I'll let you know if someone needs to take over." Zari and Leo each took an arm and pulled him up so only his feet would be dragging on the ground. They let his arms rest on their shoulders. In the meantime, Amaya picked up Nate. Once they were ready, the Legends left the Depot.

Somehow, their way through the outer maze seemed to go slower than when they first entered. Both Sara and Ava kept an eye on the markings that Rip had made the first time. If they hadn't had each other, they most certainly would've gotten lost. Because of their teamwork, they eventually made it outside.

They were greeted by the cold temperatures of the nighttime. The moon illuminated their way and the Waverider seemed even more majestic than usual. Sara sighed and a satisfied smile appeared on her face. They'd made it out. Despite the satisfaction, she felt the weight of Ray's actions on her shoulders. Zari was hurt, Mick lost an arm and who knows what damage he'd done to Nate. Sara was well aware this wasn't her fault and that she couldn't have prevented this from happening, still it weighed on her.

The group walked back to the safety and comfort of the Waverider, hopefully to mend their wounds and to figure out why Ray had attacked them.


	22. Human error

**Next question: do you have any expectations in S4 regarding Constantine? I know it's been a while since his show aired and though I shouldn't count on it, I just hope they'll involve his friends from that show, if only for just an episode or a cameo. It would also tie him a little closer with the Arrowverse.**

 **Ladyawesome45321: I can say that a lot will happen. It is, after all, the climax! I wasn't asking specifically for canon ships. I'm not much of a shipper myself, so I tend to stick to the canon ships (CaptainCanary, Amaya/Nate, AvaLance, etc.). Either way, I'm tolerant towards non-canon ships and the only one I actually ship is Zari and Ray** **(and Atom Wave... that's a nice one!)**

* * *

Zari was finally starting to feel better. Sure, she was still aching, but it was nothing she couldn't handle. She had rested and when she woke up, she again realized her luck that she had not run into Ray in the Depot on her own.

Ray… what to do with him? She was unsure how to feel about him. He could be irritating at times and his general disposition often made her wish she could punch his teeth out. Then again, she was still learning how to fit in with this group of misfits and in his own weird way, Ray had always made her feel like she was welcome and wanted. She couldn't stand his rambling on and on about random subjects, but now she found herself missing him filling the silence.

Only now she realized the profound effect he had on the crew of the timeship. Though insufferable at times, with Ray on board, there was always a constant walking and talking reminder that they shouldn't lose hope or give in to temptation or whatever bothered them at the moment. True, anyone on the ship could project those ideals, but they did not quite manage to do it the way Ray could.

Now that reminder was imprisoned. Without his enthusiasm and optimism, it seemed the crew of the Waverider was smiling less and considered grimmer options. If it had been someone else and if Ray had been present during the meetings, he'd think someone was forcing them - no matter whether it was true or not - and he would not cease to see the good in them.

Though it was morbid to think, Mallus had picked the right target. He managed to reduce Ray to this cold killing machine; there was no telling what he could do to the rest of the Legends, or to her.

Zari walked out of her chamber and to the library. There was nobody in the room, just the way Zari liked it. She walked in and sat on the desk. Sighing, she looked at the screen. For now, it did not show anything. She doubted for one moment, but that soon disappeared.

"Gideon? Can you show me how Ray's doing?" There was still some hesitancy in her voice. Did she really want to know and see him in this state? He did try to kill her. Either way, she had asked and Gideon delivered.

Zari's eyes widened. The screen showed live footage of Ray laying on the ground, in the middle of his cell. He lay on his side, with his front facing the camera. His head rested on the ground, his eyes were shut. Zari jumped off the desk and approached the screen.

"Can you rewind that?" Gideon obeyed. Ray remained on the ground for a long time - for far too long - until they found the moment Ray fell.

"Stop." The video paused right before he stood up. "Play it from here." Ray sat on the bench, now hunching. He wiped his forehead with the back of his hand and stood up. He slowly rose and his face betrayed pain. Once he stood, he took a few steps. He placed his hand against the glass wall and rested for a second, panting, hanging his head. Ray lost his grip. One moment he was standing, the next he fell to the ground.

"Replay this." Zari went over the footage at least three more times to see if he head digested anything or whether something else he'd smuggled in had affected him. There was nothing in that cell but Ray. Nothing had done this.

No, not nothing. Panic spread in her mind. Something was wrong with Ray. She tried to figure out what it could be, but she couldn't find any reasonable explanation other than a high fever and possible wounds he'd been concealing or that had been dealt by either Ava or Mick. The thought that she was the first to see him in this state did not ease her. If someone else had seen it, they'd come to help.

Zari looked at the time stamp and gasped when she noticed Ray had fainted just over half an hour ago. Nobody had seen it yet, as evident by a lack of intervention, or they were going to check up on him soon.

Either way, Zari rushed to the brig. She promptly forgot all of her own worried and only concerned herself with Ray's personal health. He tried to kill you, a part of her reasoned. She refused to listen to it. Ray had always been a friend and, despite his actions and words, she knew he was doing someone else's bidding and that he wasn't thinking straight. Ray needed help, so she was going to offer that.

When she arrived at his cell, he still lay in that same position. Again, she wondered how it could be possible half an hour passed without anyone noticing?

"Ray?" No answer. She walked to the door of the cell. He hadn't attempted to run since he learned Sara had asked Gideon to temporarily store his digital fingerprints away, to prevent him from escaping. Despite these security precautions, Zari unlocked the door. It slid open and Zari rushed inside, kneeling next to Ray. She took his head in her hands, but he remained limp. There was no sign that he was awake, conscious or aware of what was going on around him.

"Ray? Ray, can you hear me?" Again, no answer. She took his pulse - his heart was racing, beating just slightly faster than what was considered normal.

Zari deemed this more than enough reason to transport him to the med bay. She turned him on his back and grabbed him under his armpits. It made it a lot easier for her to drag him along. He was heavier than he looked, but his weight did not bother her.

She briefly let go of one armpit to open the door, which had slid close again. Only when she placed her hand on the scanner did it go wrong.

It went so fast, she had no idea what had happened. It ended with her lying on her back and Ray pressing his knee into her abdomen. He raised a fist. Before she could say or do anything, he hit her two times: once in her stomach, once in her face. She wasn't knocked out, but her vision blurred, it hurt like hell and disoriented her. She barely felt Ray removing his knee or noticed him slipping past the closing door and escaping the brig.

Zari rolled over to her side and groaned. It would take some time before she could sit upright, let alone leave the cell. Until then, she stayed there and hoped someone would notice Ray had escaped.

Zari was glad when the alarm blared and the lights turned red.

* * *

Ray stood up after dealing the punches and just escaped through the opened door. However, instead of running, he stared at Zari for just one moment. She was conscious. He could take care of her later.

The small voice returned. _Not her_ , it said. _Not anyone. This isn't right. You can still back out of this._

There was hesitation. It lasted only a few seconds, but he quickly pushed it down with a deep breath. _They brought this upon themselves,_ he reminded himself. _They should've rescued me. They had it coming._

But still…

"I'm sorry," he whispered before running out of the brig, away from his cell.


	23. Between two fires

**Short one, but oh well. The next chapters will be longer than this one. Next question: what's your favorite Legends of Tomorrow episode? For me, it's a tie between the Camelot episode, the Tolkien episode and the one where Zari's stuck in a time-loop. I can't possibly choose between these three.**

 **Ladyawesome45321: Well, it is Ray, so of course there's hope. And yes, it would indeed be nice to know what happened in Newcastle. I guess we'll have to wait and see what the writers will do with Constantine's character and story in season 4.**

 **Guest:** **I can understand that. I just felt that this story would have a bigger impact when it was not told in chronological order (plus, this allowed me to properly develop Ray's descent into madness when he was in Mallus' realm).**

* * *

The attack started out of the blue. There were no system failures, nothing blasting against the sides of the Waverider, no indication whatsoever that the ship was under attack until the alarm went off and the lights turned red.

Sara sauntered in the hallways when it started. She immediately ran to the bridge. Nothing good ever came from red lights and a blaring alarm.

"What's the problem, Gideon?"

" _Dr. Palmer has escaped his cell. Miss Tomaz is currently there. She was already attacked."_ Sara reached the bridge, where Leo and Amaya were already waiting for her and the rest of the team. Amaya stood there with a serious look in her eyes and her arms folded. Leo had his cold gun in his hands and somehow, it seemed he was willing or eager to shoot. They must have received the news as well.

"What now, captain?" Leo calmly asked.

Sara couldn't answer. Ava came running in with a confused look in her eyes. She hadn't heard the news yet, hadn't asked Gideon about the situation.

"What's going on?"

"Ray escaped and Zari's been attacked."

" _It seems we have another problem, captain Lance."_

Sara took a deep breath. There was always another problem. Why did they always have to deal with more than one? Sara was starting to expect Gideon to add one more problem to their pile of problems every time it came up.

"What is it?"

" _Damien and Nora Darhk have boarded the ship."_ Sara groaned. Ava shifted and glanced at the captain. Amaya turned her head away and Leo remained motionless.

"Just what we needed," Amaya muttered under her breath. Sara sighed deeply and nodded in agreement. After a few seconds of silence, she looked at Leo.

"Get Zari to safety, then find Mick and take care of Ray." Leo nodded once and silently left the bridge. Sara turned to the other women. "While Leo's doing that, we are going to stop the Darhks."

"I'll help." The women turned their heads. Nate had joined them. He leaned against the wall and placed his hand on his chest, breathing heavily.

"I told you to rest," Amaya said, taking a couple steps towards him. He smiled at her.

"Yeah, not right now." He approached the women. "No, I'm gonna help."

"You're not." Amaya shook her head.

"Look," Nate said, "We need to pull together to beat them, right? I mean, if I can buy the others a couple more seconds to help us after dealing with Ray, that's fine by me."

There was silence. Nobody commented on it. Amaya, realizing she couldn't keep Nate away from Damien and Nora, accepted that he was going to fight them.

"Gideon, where are they now?" Sara asked.

" _They are nearing the library."_

Sara turned to her friends. "Let's go." She and Ava walked out of the bridge, but Amaya held Nate back for just a little longer.

"What are you doing?"

Nate shrugged. "I'm helping."

"You should rest."

"Yeah, I know," he said, nodding his head. "That's gotta be hard with Damien walking around here." He briefly smiled at her again, placing his hands on her shoulders. "If things go awry, I'll pull out. I promise. But for now, let's go kick their asses."

Amaya still worried, but she'd be there herself, so she allowed him to come along. Together, they followed Sara and Ava in the direction of the library.

* * *

Leo sped to the brig and found Zari when he arrived. She was sitting upright, leaning her back against the glass and holding her head with her hand. He could not see any blood and believed, upon first impression, that Ray had dealt her a concussion. He opened the door and knelt next to her, putting the cold gun next to him. He gently took her hand and pulled it away from her head, to take a better look at it. It was bruised, but there were no other wounds or visible signs that Ray had hurt her.

"What happened?" He asked softly.

"Ray. He, em, punched me," she said. "Head and stomach." She pointed at the hurting areas.

"May I?" He asked, hands hovering over her abdomen. Zari nodded in response.

He took the shirt and pushed it up until it showed the area Zari pointed at. She winced when he touched it, but made no sound. He didn't push it up any higher. There were no irregularities, so the blow Ray dealt wasn't too serious. It even suggested Ray hadn't punched her with all of his strength. Either that or Ray wasn't that strong. Leo allowed Zari to pull the shirt down again.

"Can you stand?"

Zari shrugged. "I think so." Leo stood up, picking up his cold gun, and offered her a hand. Zari thankfully took it and pulled herself up. While she stood, she was quite unstable, but she did not fall over.

"I'm taking you to your room," he said, opening the cell door from the inside. He and Zari walked out of the cell. She held his shoulder, while he had placed his hand on her back.

"What about Ray?" Leo noticed her glancing at his weapon. He took a brief look at it himself before answering.

"I will take care of him once you're safe."


	24. Shifting

**Next question: "if this show could cross-over with any other show (non-arrowverse), which would it be?" Doctor Who would be the obvious choice (they even share Arthur Darvill and John Barrowman!), but I'd go for BBC's Merlin. Just... Merlin and the Legends. Picture it. I know they already kinda did that, but c'mon. It's perfect. It's awesome.**

 **Ladyawesome45321: Yes, the Constantine episode was a great one, too. The chemistry with the other characters was great and somehow, I think he and Mick might become good friends by the end of season 4.**

* * *

Leo moved towards the sleeping quarters with Zari in tow. Though this was not the kind of mission he'd had in mind when he boarded the Waverider and left home. He did not even know what to except when he left, but it wasn't a demon trapped in a strange prison and Ray acting like the doppelganger from back home.

Zari had insisted on walking herself. Leo almost wouldn't have allowed her to, but she seemed well enough to do this. On top of that, supporting her severely limited his own movements, as well as his reaction time should Ray or the Darhks suddenly appear. It wouldn't be a big surprise if they did show up, but at least Leo would be prepared when they did show their faces.

For Zari's sake, their pace was slow and they only inched forward. She did not try to complain too much about the irritating sluggish pace since she knew she was the reason for this speed. Still, it bothered her that she could only move so slowly without nausea coming up again.

Once they came closer to the sleeping quarters, they were on even higher alert. They did not know where Ray or the Darhks were and it was safe to assume they could ambush them any second. They picked up their pace. All they needed to do now was to go down the hallway, and then Zari was in her room, where she hoped they would be safe until both threats had been dealt with.

An inhuman cry disrupted them when they stood at Zari's door. It came from the room next to Zari's, a little further down the corridor. Leo froze.

 _That is Mick's room._

"Go inside," Leo commanded, "Do not engage." Without giving her any time to respond, he raced to Mick's room, a thousand and one scenarios running through his head. He slowed down for the last few yards and paused near the open door, pressing his back against the wall. He lifted his gun and turned 180 degrees, taking a sideways step and walked into the room.

Leo almost snapped. Ray and Mick on his knees, blood trickling out of his mouth and nose, his right eye shut and swollen. His head was bruised, and Leo could not see more. Ray blocked his view, held Mick by his shirt and punched him with the other hand.

Leo took a step forward. "Stop it!" He refrained from shouting. One of them had to keep a cool head, and it seemed Leo had to be that person.

Ray turned around, still holding onto Mick, and he loosened the fist. Now that he stood in full view, Leo could see the pieces he wore, specifically the sleeves and gloves he'd removed from his suit. Now Mick did not have a fist, but a blaster aimed at his head, too close to miss, even by chance. The blaster had been enhanced, something Leo had not noticed during their encounter at the Depot, and it possibly made the situation more dangerous. Mick watched Leo with his good eye and shot him a pleasing look.

"Or what?" Ray raised his voice. "You'll kill me? Like that worked the first time around."

"Ray…" Leo would say more, but from the corner of his eye, he saw Zari had come. She stood in the door opening, leaning against it. Leo cursed under his breath.

"I told you to go inside."

"Yeah, she's not good at following orders," Ray said, eyes shifting to her before addressing Leo again. "Leave. Now. I'll kill him."

Still aiming the cold gun at his target, Leo took one cautious step closer. Ray's grip on Mick's shirt tightened.

"Do you want to take that chance?" Ray taunted him.

Leo stopped. Did he? For a few moments of introspection, nothing happened. Only when Leo had found a plan and a backup plan he was comfortable with, he answered.

"I do." He lowered the cold gun and placed it on the ground. He assumed a more relaxed stance, his hands next to his body.

"What are you doing?" Zari managed not to shout, glancing at Ray, who seemed just as confused as Mick and Zari.

Leo only had eyes for Ray and disregarded Zari's comment. He stayed right where he stood.

"I've seen you. On Earth-X. I've seen your behavior. I know you better than you know, especially in this state. The man I see in front of me looks like him, but couldn't be. He shouldn't be."

Leo dared to take one step closer. Ray pressed the blaster against Mick's head, having pulled up the arsonist to his feet. "Why are you doing this?"

Ray looked shocked, taken aback by the question. "You don't know?"

"We don't," Leo admitted, "What did we do to make you want to do this?"

"You _abandoned_ me!" It escaped Ray's mouth at a louder volume than he'd intended. He dropped Mick and pulled back the blaster, turning it into a fist again. Ray bowed his head and gulped. When he lifted his head, he made sure to stare at Leo and Zari.

Leo was ready to sweep his gun off of the floor. Zari tensed up, anticipating having to hide or having to call upon her powers. Mick grunted something but it was lost, and he warily eyed Ray.

Once he composed himself, Ray continued in a softer voice. "Nora transported me to Mallus' realm. Time Itself. I was trapped in there, with no hope of getting out. I was in there, with him. Do you know what he did to me? I can't…" He shook his head. "No. I waited. I _hoped_. But you never came. You left me there."

Ray aimed the blaster at Mick again, still too dazed and without enough energy to crawl away. Leo glanced at his gun, ready to enact his backup plan and end him.

"You should've come." Ray remained calm, but he grimaced. "If you had, this would not have happened."

There it was - a window of opportunity, just big enough for one more try to defuse the situation without resorting to murder. "You're right. We should have."

Ray nodded once, wholeheartedly agreeing with him.

"After you were taken, we needed to repair the Waverider. We'd be stranded if we didn't do anything. We worked for one day, for about twenty-four hours, when we received a message. Your message." One more step towards Ray, who took a deep breath.

"It's been one day since we last saw you. Time Itself, you said? I assume time doesn't pass there the way it does here. And no matter how long it would've taken us, we'd never give up on you. They would never stop looking for you."

"Shut up." Ray's face betrayed doubt and fury.

"They care about you. They really -"

"I said, shut up." He aimed the blaster at Leo. The interdimensional traveler raised his hands in response until they were at the same height of his head.

"That is unfortunate. We still need to fight the Darhks."

Ray furrowed his brow. "What?"

"They're here." Zari finally spoke up in defense of Leo, finally comfortable with speaking to her friend. She stayed back for safety reasons. "Let Mick go, help us defeat them. Then you can hear our side of the story and… and you can hate us if you don't believe us."

Ray did not immediately respond. He turned his head to Mick, who was glaring at his captor as if to dare him to finish the job.

"Listen to the girl," the arsonist said. "It'd be good for you."

Ray almost hit Mick again. The news that the Darhks were aboard had thrown him off-balance enough not to retaliate to the taunting of his victim.

"They are still your enemies, too," Leo said, " We share that much. Let's take care of them together. We could use your help." He glanced at Ray's enhanced blasters, the ones that had left Nate in a possible near-death situation after just two blasts.

Ray remained silent. Leo could only hope he was weighing his options or at least considering to help them and not to attack them until the Darhks were off the ship.


	25. At the turn of the tide

**Next question: "What are your general expectations regarding S4?" Personally, I have high expectations for season four. There is so much they could explore with the Fugitive storyline and Constantine added to the show.** **I just hope they don't screw it up with too many silly filler episodes.**

* * *

Damien and Nora Darhk walked through the red-lighted hallways of the Waverider. Damien walked around with a big smile upon his face, the blaring alarms like music to his ears. It was a stark contrast to his daughter, who did not wear a smile and was ever serious, more concerned with the plan than her father seemed to be. Then again, he had brought her aboard.

"What are we doing here?" She studied the inside of the ship and prepared for an attack should someone try to catch them by surprise. Nobody could surprise her father, either, but he did not look like it. He grinned and walked like he owned the place, while she looked very much like she was breaking and entering.

"Well, I thought it'd be a good idea to visit!" he said jovially. She still was looking around warily, as if anyone could discover them any second.

"Didn't we already do that?"

"That was one month ago. This is different." Damien looked at his daughter. It had indeed been one month since they last saw the Legends. They moved their plans along and somewhere down the road, Damien convinced her to take a short break and actually enjoy the father-daughter moments while they lasted. Nora agreed to a certain degree, but never fully committed to what her father called 'fun' while they were breaking time to free Mallus. Still, the Legends arrived and stopped them. The Legends always came, though they sometimes failed their jobs.

Nora looked at her father in confusion. "So why come back? Our plans are proceeding as planned. They can't stop us."

"I know, baby doll, but the longer the Legends are grounded here, the more time we have to disrupt the timeline and free Mallus. Also, you have got to see the fabrication room."

Nora stopped and glared at her father. "We came here… So you could visit a room."

"Not just any room." He chose to ignore the disappointment in her voice. She'd understand soon enough. "Once we're there, we can make another transporter."

Nora's eyes widened. "Another transporter?"

Damien nodded with enthusiasm. "You see, I was thinking, there's two of us and only one Waverider. If we can make another transporter, we could split up…"

"... and deal more damage. They'll have to split up, too." When he put it that way, it was easy to put two and two together. She nodded to show her approval.

"Exactly! And, bonus, only one group gets to keep the big ship."

Nora was smiling now, too. Somehow, it unnerved Damien. She smiled in an evil way - he'd wanted his baby girl to be just like him, but seeing his wish come true made him realize he'd set Nora on a dark path she could impossibly return from. Especially with the coming of Mallus approaching quickly.

Yet, he carried on as if nothing was wrong. At least Nora was happy being evil. Wasn't providing happiness for your children the biggest accomplishment a parent can achieve? At least she was doing something she enjoyed, something she could enjoy with him.

"Now, let's seek out this room."

* * *

Ava and Sara ran through the hallways, believing Amaya and Nate were right behind them. Because they knew roughly where their enemies were going, it did not take them too long to reach Damien and Nora Darhk. They were close to the fabrication room. They can't get there, Sara thought. Who knew what they would build with the technology in there?

"Hey!" Sara spoke to draw their attention. The father and daughter turned around, Damien grinning excitedly when he saw the women.

"Oh! We've got company!" He glanced at his daughter. That was all the communication he needed to rally her to fight with him. Neither of them entered the fabrication room, showing their confidence about the oncoming fight. Sara and Ava watched one another, nodding once confidently. Without exchanging any words the women charged at their enemies.

Ava was going to take care of Nora while Sara would attack Damien. The villains let the women approach and the two sides collided.

They fought valiantly and threw punches at one another, seeming evenly matched. The Darhks also seemed to save their strength and powers for a later attack.

Amaya and Nate arrived shortly after the fight had started. Nora telekinetically grabbed Ava by her throat and held it for a moment. Amaya charged at her, Nate staying to catch his breath. Nora pushed Ava back and onto Amaya, the two of them falling back.

In the meantime, Damien had grabbed Sara's shoulders and shoved her into the wall. Nate took his chance and ran towards them, disregarding his own not-yet-fully-healed injuries. With one glance, Nora allowed her father to take him out. With one nonchalant upward wave of his hand, he sent Nate flying into the ceiling. He fell down, grunting upon impact with the ground.

Sara stood up, but Nora knocked her down. Ava and Amaya had gotten up, too, but Damien threw them back. His focus then shifted to Nate.

"Any last words?" The historian groaned in pain and Damien shrugged. "So be it, then."

Damien had not forgotten the reason for coming here. But this chance had presented itself perfectly, and he wasn't going to let it pass. Beating up a Legend and venting his anger are some things he hadn't done in a long time. Damien raised his fist, ready to strike his victim.

Something hot and painful hit his back and pushed him away from Nate. Damien shortly cried out in pain. Nora turned her head to the source and before she knew it, she too got hit in the shoulder.

Nate rolled over on his back to see what was going on and looked up. There stood a man, aiming his hand forward, glaring at the Darhks. The historian blinked a couple of times to get a clear view and he couldn't believe his eyes.

"Ray?" Was it really him, or did he have such a severe concussion that he was seeing things? His brain was too shaken to actively figure out which option was true. But Ray stood there indeed, with Leo right behind him, murder in his eyes that was directed to the Darhks.

Damien got up and looked at Ray, eyes wide open in shock. He shook his head.

"That's impossible."

"Get off this ship," Ray said with a gruff voice that could rival Oliver Queen's Arrow voice. "Right. _Now_."

Damien just stood and stared, unable to make a move. Ray grew impatient and shot him again. This time, Damien ducked. The blast hit the wall and very nearly destroyed it. There was a possibility Ray had used more strength in hid blasters than before, but nobody could tell.

"I said, now." Damien listened. He took his daughter, who agreed it was the right time to leave, and they teleported off the ship.

Nate still lay on the ground. Amaya came to him and helped him sit up. He told her he was feeling well enough and then turned his attention to Ray. Only now he was slowly lowering his arm, still looking around warily at his teammates. The only ones not present were Mick and Zari, who volunteered to get him to the med bay.

Everyone could feel the tension and held their weapons - if they had any - close to themselves. Despite the Darhks' departure, Ray could prove to be just as dangerous if he put his mind to it, memories of the Depot fresh in their minds.

"Ray…" Leo held his finger on the trigger. One move and there would be a dead man in the corridor.

"How long?" Ray eventually asked. "How long was I gone?"

"About a day? Something like that," Nate said. Amaya helped Nate stand, all other eyes turned to Ray, all of them ready to act, should it be necessary.

"One day." Ray sounded defeated. After a few moments of silence, he lowered his head and slightly slumped his shoulders. He leaned against the wall and remained in that position for a couple of seconds. He sat down as realization washed over him and he placed his hand over his mouth. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath. He stayed in this position for quite some time.

"Can you…" Ray spoke softly, hesitating. "Can you give me some space?"

For a moment, nobody moved. Then Ava moved away, and Sara soon followed suit. One by one, they left Ray in the corridor. But Nate stayed longer, wanting to help.

"Ray-"

"Please, just go."

The message came through. With one last look, Nate walked away as well. He could only hope Ray was going to be all right and that, once he reached that point, he would allow Nate to help him.


	26. Fractured

**Last chapter! We've reached the end... I had a blast writing this story and I remember thinking back in February that people might not want to read it. Now, over 5,000+ reads later, I know I probably shouldn't have worried.** **Either way, these past few months have been great and I hope you enjoyed reading this story. Thank you so much for reading, favoriting and following, and reviewing. I will be back with more stories.**

 **Last question: would you be interested in reading an Earth-X story? I know it's kind of a touchy subject, because Earth-X and all, but I'm considering writing one. I believe it's either going to be a collection of one-shots or a full-fledged story, of which the latter will also feature the Earth-1 Legends (or I might do both). So, what do you think about that? Would you be interested in reading something like this?**

 **LadyAwesome45321: Yes, that would be an interesting cross-over as well. And it indeed would work. Yeah, I honestly don't know what to expect either. The trailer has me hyped, but let's first see what will become of the season itself and whether it'll be a mess. Thank you so much for frequently reviewing!**

 **Guest #1: Thanks for the review! This is, unfortunately, the last chapter, but I'll be back with more LoT stories.**

 **Guest #2: while you may not like this story, others do. And why would I be ashamed? I loved writing this story and sharing it with the world.**

* * *

 _One day._

He still couldn't quite get over it. The void had seemed endless, time seemed to pass without actually passing. He could have guessed not much time would have passed on the Waverider and the images Mallus had shown him had probably edited Ray out of them.

Forty-eight hours ago, everything was fine. Many times he'd wondered how much could change within such a short span of time. He had his answer now, and it horrified him.

 _One day._

He would first go for Mick. He was already halfway when Leo and Zari had interrupted him. Once Mick had been burned to crisps, he would have taken care of his so-called best friend who hadn't been there for him, lying helplessly in the med bay, hoping to end it painfully. Ray would have followed it up by seizing control of the Waverider, taking out one Legend at a time. Sara would have been the hardest, but she would have held back, while he wouldn't have. They'd be dead within hours.

When he had done his work, he was going after Mallus. He hadn't gotten so far in his plans yet. It probably would have included recruiting Barry and Oliver and some of their friends to help, not mentioning it had been him who had killed the Legends.

Ray trembled. _One day. Twenty-four hours._

How messed up was this? How powerful Mallus had to be! He felt like screaming, wanted to let it all out, and if anyone would be close, they would have felt it, too. One last strike from the Atom that could knock them out of the fight for weeks.

He needn't hesitate anymore. It was all right. The Darhks were gone from the ship. Mallus had no influence on him in this world. Hence the slipping dedication to the plan and that persistent voice that reminded him of his humanity while he was set on destroying the Legends.

And there it lingered. That feeling, that _need_ to find the Legends and punish them for the thing they had not been able to do because only twenty-four hours could never have been enough to find him and rescue him. He knew it was wrong, but it was there. He hoped it would wear off. Fear kicked in – what if it didn't? What if he had to live with that feeling for the rest of his life?

Ray reached up and found a pipe. He pulled himself up with it and looked around. He hadn't cared much to look around after returning. It was still the same old Waverider, with the same people. Even Leo was here. Nothing had changed in his absence.

Except it had. Ray was terrified of Mallus and what that demon had turned him into. He was terrified of what his next move was, and whether he would target another Legend, whether he would turn them into the exact same thing they had turned Ray into.

He stared at his hands, at the gloves of the suit he had put on – the entire suit would take too much time – and the blasters that had hurt his friends. His family. Mick. Nate. Zari. The others, more or less indirectly. It was impossible to keep his hands still anymore, and tears blurred his vision.

Forcibly, fighting back tears, Ray tore the gloves off of his hands and threw them away. They clattered as they hit the ground. Ray did not bother to pick them up as he made his way to the privacy of his room.

* * *

Sara went to her room after Ray had helped them defeat the Darhks. She passed Zari and Mick on their way to the med bay. When Zari said she could handle it, Sara did not doubt her. Still, she wondered whether Zari would make it there without collapsing. Mick wasn't complaining as much as he usually would, which both Zari and Sara considered a blessing. Sara did not accompany them, preferring to be alone for a moment and reflect on everything that had happened the past few days.

She barely lay on her bed for five minutes when the doors slid open. They revealed Ava, who stood just outside Sara's room.

"Do you have a minute?"

Sara stared at the Time Bureau Agent and nodded once. Ava approached the captain, a worried look in her eyes. It was a sight Sara disliked.

"What's wrong?"

"It's Rip," Ava said, "he's gone."

Sara's eyes widened and she stood up from the bed. "What?"

"He must have taken his chance and fled. Did you take his time courier?"

"No." Until now, that Rip came aboard the ship using a possibly stolen time courier seemed irrelevant and it was something that had completely slipped her mind. He had just appeared and what happened afterward had demanded all of their attention.

Ava sighed. She was not particularly mad, but it did make her job ten times more difficult.

"Director Bennett's going to fire me if I tell him Rip was within my grasp and he escaped."

"Then don't tell him," Sara suggested. Ava looked at Sara - she had been talking more to herself than the captain.

"Just tell him you've been looking for him and haven't found him yet."

Ava frowned. "You want me to lie to my superior?"

"It's better than the alternative."

Ava shrugged, realizing that Sara was probably right. She wasn't quite comfortable, but at least she wouldn't have to lie about Rip getting away.

There were no more reasons for Ava to stick around on the Waverider any longer. There were a few moments of awkward silence during which they both looked at each other and the ground between their feet.

"I'll see you around, then," Ava said, professionally nodding her head once. Sara smiled warmly.

"See you around," Sara responded and Ava left the room without further ado. Even as the doors slid closed and Sara went back to thinking about the most recent events, she still wore that smile on her face.

* * *

Sara gathered everyone on the bridge. This would allow them to discuss the problems at hand and plan their course of action for the next couple of days. About six hours ago, Ray had scared Damien and Nora away. Still, not everyone could make it to the meeting. Mick did not care enough to come and was possibly still mentally recovering from the attack earlier. Zari, after taking a power nap, went back to the engine room and was repairing Gideon as well as any other important machinery. Ray was not present either.

Only Nate, Amaya and Leo were not preoccupied and showed up. Those three and Sara were standing around the console on the bridge, talking for about half an hour until Sara shared information about Rip.

"So he just left?" Amaya asked. Sara nodded in response

"He should've stayed here," Nate said, "If it weren't for him, we wouldn't have been in this mess in the first place. We should-" He glanced to the right and stopped talking. He straightened his back and did not look away. Everyone followed his example.

Ray had snuck into the bridge and stood to the side, half-hidden as he stood near the outer wall of the captain's office. He'd taken off the sleeves of his suit and he wore plain jeans and a simple red shirt. He shifted on his feet and looked generally uncomfortable. He had folded his arms and hunched a little, glancing at the ground every once in a while.

"I didn't mean to interrupt," he said awkwardly, looking at the group.

"You didn't," Amaya said. A glimpse of a smile might have appeared on his face, but nobody was certain if it truly happened. Nate nodded in agreement with the totem bearer.

"Yeah, I was just gonna rant anyway," Nate admitted.

"How are you feeling?" Leo asked him, genuinely wondering about his health. Ray half-shrugged.

"I've felt better." He took a deep breath. "I came here to apologize. I am so, so sorry for everything that I did to you. I was…" Ray paused and made a fist, though keeping it close to his body. "Mallus, he, em... got into my head, twisted my mind. I… looking back, I just… I don't…"

He trembled lightly. His breath was ragged and he could no longer look at them, preferring to look away or to the ground, closing his eyes. Sara walked up to him.

"Hey, it's okay." She placed a hand on his forearm to provide some comfort. He shoved it off of him, careful not to do this too roughly. Ray shook his head.

"No, it's not." He did not raise his voice, but it did break during certain moments. "I tried to kill you, and I… I still kind of _want_ it. I can't help it. I'm not sure how long it'll last, or even whether I'll ever stop feeling like this." He'd chewed over his next words. "I've become a liability."

"That's a risk I'm willing to take," Leo said, nodding once to affirm that he was not going anywhere. Amaya and Nate nodded, too, finding themselves in agreement with Leo.

"We're here for you," Sara said. "We'll always be. No matter what happens, we'll support you."

Ray looked at their faces, dumbfounded that all of them were smiling at him without any resentment for the things he'd put them through. And then, he seemed more content. This time, the smile on his face was clearly visible. It wasn't a big smile, but it was the first time since so long he wore an actual smile on his face.

"Thank you," he said with sincerity, letting out a deep breath. He assumed a more relaxed stance and held his arms next to his body, stepping away from the wall. Through this conversation, he seemed more comfortable with sticking around.

Some sort of alarm went off. Everyone but Nate searched for the source when they heard the four short low beeps.

"What is that?" Amaya asked. Nate walked around the console towards the captain's office.

"I asked Gideon to identify the nearest level seven anachronism." he stopped on the steps and looked back at the Legends, his suggestion met with confused looks.

"Why did you do that?" Leo asked, purely out of curiosity."

"And when?" Sara added.

Nate shrugged. "I thought it'd be good. You know, getting back into business, to take our minds off of things." He entered the office.

Ray eyed Sara. "If you don't mind, I'm going to sit this one out."

"That's fine," Sara answered and Ray nodded. In the meantime, Amaya walked up to Nate, who was looking at the screen in the office as the information came in.

"What does it say?" Amaya said, folding her arms, finally standing next to him. His eyes widened as he stared at the information.

"Charlemagne meets John Adams in 1807." His voice rose at the end of the sentence, either surprised or excited by the prospects of meeting both historical figures.

"Alright," Sara said, catching the attention of the Legends in proximity, slipping back into the role of captain. "Leo, go to Zari and tell her to hurry up. Help her if necessary. Amaya, Nate, you might want to suit up already. We don't know when we'll leave. And Ray…" She turned her head to the inventor from Star City.

He nodded once. "I'm good." Whether he believed it or not, he wanted to get better. As he said before, it would take some time. Sara nodded in confirmation, turning to her team again.

"Good. Let's do this."

* * *

 **The End**


End file.
